Ideal gas


An ideal gas or perfect gas is a hypothetical gas consisting of identical particles of zero volume, with no intermolecular forces. Additionally, the constituent atoms or molecules undergo perfectly elastic collisions with the walls of the container. Real gases do not exhibit these exact properties, although the approximation is often good enough to describe real gases. The approximation breaks down at high pressures and low temperatures, where the intermolecular forces play a greater role in determining the properties of the gas. There exist three basic types of ideal gas: