Dalton's law

n 1: (chemistry) law stating that when two elements can combine

to form more than one compound the amounts of one of

them that combines with a fixed amount of the other will

exhibit a simple multiple relation [syn: {law of

multiple proportions}, {Dalton's law}]

2: (chemistry and physics) law stating that the pressure

exerted by a mixture of gases equals the sum of the

partial pressures of the gases in the mixture; the

pressure of a gas in a mixture equals the pressure it

would exert if it occupied the same volume alone at the

same temperature [syn: {Dalton's law}, {Dalton's law of

partial pressures}, {law of partial pressures}]