11.86 Robert Boyle (1627–1691) established the law that (pressure × volume) = constant for a gas at a constant temperature. By pouring mercury into the open top of the long side of a J-shaped tube, he increased the pressure on the air trapped in the short leg. The volume of trapped air = h × cross section, where h is the height of the air in the short leg. If y = height of mercury, adjusted for the pressure of the atmosphere on the open end, then y and x = 1/h should obey a straight-line relationship. [Source: The Laws of Gases, edited by Carl Barus (1899), New York: Harper and Brothers Publishers.]

h 48 46 44 42 40 38 36 34 32 30 28 26 24 y 29 2 16 30 9 16 31 15 16 33 8 16 35 5 16 37 39 5 16 41 10 16 44 3 16 47 1 16 50 5 16 54 5 16 58 13 16 h 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 y 61 5 16 64 1 16 67 1 16 70 11 16 74 2 16 77 14 16 82 12 16 87 14 16 93 1 16 100 7 16 107 13 16 117 9 16