Adiabatic final pressure calculator

The Adiabatic final pressure calculator computes adiabatic final pressure from the relation P2 = P1 (V1/V2)^gamma. It takes 4 inputs (initial pressure in Pa, initial volume in m3, final volume in m3, gamma) and returns the final pressure in Pa. Physics students, lab and workshop technicians, and hobbyist builders and observers who need one quantity in a standard physical relationship worked out from figures they already have, whether those come from an instrument reading, a datasheet, or a published table. Enter your values below and the result updates instantly, and you can share a permalink that pre-fills the exact calculation. Convert every value to one consistent set of units before entering it (lengths and masses on the same scale rather than metres mixed with centimetres, absolute temperatures in kelvin, angles in whatever unit the field asks for), respect the sign conventions that carry meaning, such as direction for velocity, acceleration and force or which side of a lens a distance is measured on, and quote the result to no more precision than your least precise input supports. For example, with initial pressure = 100000 Pa, initial volume = 1 m3, final volume = 1 m3, gamma = 1.4, the final pressure works out to 100000 Pa, and the worked example further down the page shows every step so you can follow the arithmetic and reproduce it by hand. Units and physical constants follow NIST / CODATA; the relation itself is a standard result of physics, and the figure above each result carries the date it was last verified. Each of these relationships describes an idealised situation, so a result holds only as far as that idealisation does, whether the assumption is a point mass, a uniform field, an ideal component, a single uniform medium, no losses to friction or drag, or a steady rate, and a real measurement can depart from it once conditions stop matching the model.

With Initial pressure = 100000 Pa, Initial volume = 1 m3, Final volume = 1 m3, Gamma = 1.4, the result is 100000 Pa.

Formula: P2 = P1 (V1/V2)^gamma. Source: NIST / CODATA, as at 2026-06-22.

Final pressure100000 Pa

Applies to: any numeric inputs. Method source: NIST / CODATA, checked 2026-06-22.

The formula

P2 = P1 (V1/V2)^gamma

Worked example

With Initial pressure = 100000 Pa, Initial volume = 1 m3, Final volume = 1 m3, Gamma = 1.4:

  1. P2 = P1 (V1/V2)^gamma
  2. Final pressure = 100000 Pa

This worked example is one of the automated golden-value tests this calculator must pass before it can publish.

What this assumes

  • Inputs are real numbers in the units shown.
  • The result is the exact value of P2 = P1 (V1/V2)^gamma; general information, not professional advice.

Frequently asked questions

What formula does this use?

P2 = P1 (V1/V2)^gamma. This is a standard result of physics; units and physical constants follow NIST / CODATA.

Does the result ever change over time?

No. This is a pure formula with no external rate, so the same inputs always give the same result.

Official sources and verification

Reviewed by the CalculatorHub team, edited by James Graham, 2026-06-22. See our methodology. General information, not professional advice.