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Understanding Thermal Expansion Concepts

Thermal expansion is the tendency of matter to change shape, area, and volume in response to temperature changes. When temperature increases, the kinetic energy of molecules increases, causing solids, liquids, and gases to expand. Solids expand less than liquids and gases due to their tightly packed particles with strong intermolecular forces. Water is unusual in that it expands upon freezing and reaches maximum density at 4°C. Gases expand greatly with heat, increasing in volume at constant pressure or pressure at constant volume. Applications of thermal expansion include cracks in roads, expansion joints, and bi-metallic thermostats. Thermometers also use thermal expansion, with liquids constrained in tubes that change length or gas volumes with temperature.

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182 views13 pages

Understanding Thermal Expansion Concepts

Thermal expansion is the tendency of matter to change shape, area, and volume in response to temperature changes. When temperature increases, the kinetic energy of molecules increases, causing solids, liquids, and gases to expand. Solids expand less than liquids and gases due to their tightly packed particles with strong intermolecular forces. Water is unusual in that it expands upon freezing and reaches maximum density at 4°C. Gases expand greatly with heat, increasing in volume at constant pressure or pressure at constant volume. Applications of thermal expansion include cracks in roads, expansion joints, and bi-metallic thermostats. Thermometers also use thermal expansion, with liquids constrained in tubes that change length or gas volumes with temperature.

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BY: Aaliyah Haji

Class: viii B
Roll no. 17
• Thermal expansion is the tendency of matter to
change in shape, area, and volume in response to a
change in temperature. Temperature is a monotonic
function of the average molecular kinetic energy of a
substance. When a substance is heated, the kinetic
energy of its molecules increases.
• increase in dimension of a body due to increase in
temperature is thermal expansion. The expansion in
length is called linear expansion. The expansion in area
is called area expansion.
• In solids the particles are tightly packed which
means they [solids] have very less inter-
molecular space and their inter-particular force
of attraction is very strong , they don’t expand
much on heating . But it varies in solids certain
solids expand more than other solids.
• In terms of thermal expansion water shows a typical
behaviour. It contracts on heating between 0 degree C
and 4 degree C. The volume of given amount of water
decreases as it is cooled from room temperature, until
its temperature reaches 4 degree C. Below 4 degree
C, the volume increases and density decreases.
• This means that water has a maximum density at 4
degree C. Due to this property water bodies like lakes
and ponds freezes at the top first.
• Gases expand on heating. Their
volume expansion is very much greater
than that of liquids. If a gas is heated
constant pressure, its volume increases and
if a gas is heated at constant volume, its
pressure increases due to expansion.
• Cracks in the road when the road expand on heating.
• Sags in electrical power lines.
• Windows of metal framed need rubber spacers to
avoid thermal expansion.
• Expansion joints (like joint of two railway tracks).
• Length of metal bar getting longer on heating.
• Tyre bursts in hot days when filled full of air due to
thermal expansion.
• One application that relies on the thermal expansion of solids
would be a bi-metallic thermostat. In such devices, a coil of
metal made up of two different layers of differing thermal
expansion properties changes its shape as it warms or cools.
Usually, there is a small glass bulb attached to the free end of
the coil. The glass bulb contains a drop of mercury that makes
or breaks an electrical circuit depending on the position of the
drop of mercury.
• Thermometers are another application of thermal expansion –
most contain a liquid (usually mercury or alcohol) which is
constrained to flow in only one direction (along the tube) due to
changes in volume brought about by the change in the
temperature.
• VOLUME GAS THERMOMETERS. Whereas liquids and solids
vary significantly with regard to their expansion coefficients,
most gases follow more or less the same pattern
of expansion in response to increases in temperature. ...
As gas is released into the empty container, this causes the
column of mercury to move upward.
•
.
Linear Expansion : Area Expansion :
• increase in linear dimensions • Area expansion.
of a solid or in volume of a The area thermal expansion
fluid because of rise in coefficient relates the change
temperature. in a
material's area dimensions to
a change in temperature. It is
the fractional change
in area per degree of
temperature change.
BY : Aaliyah haji viii b roll no. 17

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