What is an Ideal Gas
An ideal gas is defined as one in which all collisions between atoms or molecules are perfectly elastic and in which there are no intermolecular attractive forces. An ideal gas can be visualized as a collection of perfectly hard spheres which collide but which otherwise do not interact with each other. In reality, no real gases are like an ideal gas and therefore no real gases follow the ideal gas law or equation completely. At temperatures near a gases boiling point, increases in pressure will cause condensation to take place and drastic decreases in volume. At very high pressures, the intermolecular forces of a gas are significant. However, most gases are in approximate agreement at pressures and temperatures above their boiling point. The ideal gas law is utilized by engineers working with gases because it is simple to use and approximates real gas behavior.
See also: Elastic Collision