How does Gay Lussac's law explain the use of a pressure cooker?

1 Answer
anor277
Jan 1, 2016

Gay Lusaac's law holds that at constant volume, #P# #prop# #T#.

Explanation:

At #1# #atm# pressure we know that the boiling point of water (the temperature at which the vapour pressure of the water is equal to #1# #atm#) is equal to #100# #""^@C#.

If we increase the ambient pressure, the boiling point of the water should increase, and indeed it does, so you can cook at temperatures #># #100""^@C# and potentially reduce cooking time. I had a colleague once from Sri Lanka who would cook curries in a pressure cooker - he got beautiful tender meat in an hour or so, rather than the 6-8 hours it would take with a normal saucepan.

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