What is gas constant R?

The gas constant is a physical constant denoted by R and is expressed in terms of units of energy per temperature
increment per mole. It is also known as Ideal gas constant or molar gas constant or universal gas constant. The
constant is also a combination of the constants from Boyle's law, Charles's law, Avogadro's law, and Gay-Lussac's law.
It is a physical constant that is featured in many fundamental equations in the physical sciences, such as the ideal gas
law, the Arrhenius equation, and the Nernst equation. Physically, the gas constant is the constant of proportionality
that relates the energy scale in physics to the temperature scale, when a mole of particles at the stated temperature
is being considered.

Gas constant R value can be given as, R = 8.3144598(48) J⋅mol−1⋅K−1

Different ways of expression of R

R=PVnT
Where,
P is the pressure.
V is the volume,

n is the number of moles of the given substance

T is the temperature.
Thus, writing pressure as force per unit area we can derive the dimensional expression for R as-
R=(force/area)×(volume)(amount)×(temperature)

Area and Volume can be expressed in terms of length as volume=(length)^3 and area = (length)^2
Thus we get-
R=(force/length^2)×(length)^3(amount)×(temperature)=(force)×(length)(amount)×(temperature)
Since force times length is work we get-

R=Work x Amount × Temperature

Thus gas constant can be interpreted as work per degree per mole.

Derivation of Gas Constant, R

Let us take any gas:

1 mole of Argon = 39.948 g Ar = 22.4 L Ar @ STP

STP = Standard temperature (0oC or 273 K) & Standard Pressure = 1 atmosphere

Assume the gas acts ideally. Then PV = nRT
 Solve for R:

Substitute into equation:

Solve: R = 0.0821 atm L / mol K

If R is needed in units of pressure (kPa):

= 8.314 kPa L / mol K

If R is needed in units of pressure (mm Hg)

= 62.396 mm Hg L / mol K

R = 0.0821 atm L / mol K.

Gas Constant In Different Units
The gas constant has many applications. It is expressed in many units. Some of the gas constant value in different
units are listed below-

Gas Constant Value Units

8.3144598(48) J⋅K−1⋅mol−1

8.3144598(48)×103 amu.m2.s-2.K-1

8.3144598(48)×10−2 L.bar.K-1.mol-1

8.3144598(48) m3.Pa.K-1.mol-1

62.363577(36) L.Torr.K-1.mol-1

1.9872036(11)×10−3 kcal.K-1.mol-1

8.2057338(47)×10−5 m3.atm.K-1.mol-1

0.082057338(47) L.atm.K-1.mol-1

R Constant For Atm