Graham's law

Gra·ham's law

noun \ˈgrā-əmz-, ˈgra(-ə)mz-\

Definition of GRAHAM'S LAW

: a statement in chemistry: under constant pressure and temperature two gases diffuse into each other at rates inversely proportional to the square roots of their respective molecular weights or densities

Biographical Note for GRAHAM'S LAW

Graham, Thomas (1805–1869), British chemist. Graham ranks as one of the founders of physical chemistry and is regarded in particular as the father of the chemistry of colloids. After studying the molecular diffusion of gases, he wrote his first important paper on the subject in 1829. He explicitly stated Graham's law in another paper in 1833. After examining the diffusion of liquids, he divided particles into two types: colloids and crystalloids. He devised dialysis and proved that the process of liquid diffusion causes partial decomposition of certain compounds.