What does the letter 'R' represent in the equation pV = mRT?

In the equation ( pV = mRT ), the letter 'R' represents the specific gas constant. This constant is crucial in the ideal gas law as it relates the pressure, volume, and temperature of a gas to the amount of substance in terms of mass. The equation itself is a form of the ideal gas law, where ( p ) denotes pressure, ( V ) is volume, ( m ) is mass, and ( T ) is temperature in Kelvin.

The specific gas constant 'R' is unique to each gas and connects the universal gas constant to the specific properties of the gas being considered. Understanding 'R' is vital for calculations involving gas behavior under different temperatures and pressures, particularly in fields like thermodynamics and fluid mechanics.

In this context, other terms like pressure, temperature, and volume refer to different parameters in the gas law but do not pertain to the specific constant denoted by 'R'.