The equation of state was originally developed for ideal gases, and proved central to the development of early molecular and atomic physics. Increasingly sophisticated equations of state have been developed to take into account molecular interactions, quantization, relativistic effects, etc.

Extreme conditions of matter are encountered both in nature and in the laboratory, for example in the centres of stars, in relativistic collisions of heavy nuclei, in inertial confinement fusion (where a temperature of 10"9" K and a pressure of up to a billion atmospheres can be achieved). A sound...