Heat & Temperature

Heat
Heat is the energy that is transferred from the body to others in thermal contact with each other
as a result of the difference of temperature between them.

SI unit: joule or J

Heat always flows from a region of higher temperature to a region of lower temperature.
To explain this let us have a look at the diagram below. It is seen that the metal rod is heated
at one end but after some time the other end is felt hot. This is because heat has travelled from
the hotter region to the colder region.

Temperature
The temperature of a body is the degree of hotness or coldness of the body.

SI unit: kelvin or K

Other units used: degrees celcius or Fahrenheit.

Thermometric liquids are liquids used in thermometers: Alcohol and mercury

Laboratory thermometer:

Range: -10 – 110 0C

Capillary tube/capillary bore is narrow so that the mercury moves a long distance for a small
rise in temperature.

The glass bulb is made thin for heat to reach the mercury quickly.
Clinical thermometer

It is used to measure the human body temperature.

Range: 35-42 0C

The purpose of the constriction is to prevent the mercury from flowing back to the bulb when
removed from the body.

Thermal equilibrium:
Thermal equilibrium – When two objects A and B are in thermal contact and there is no net
transfer of thermal energy from A to B or from B to A, they are said to be in thermal
equilibrium.

An increase in the dimensions (length or volume) of a body due to an increase in its temperature
is called thermal expansion.

Thermal expansions of solids, liquids and gases.

Expansion of solids
When matter is heated, its particles gain energy, which is exerted as kinetic energy.

In solids, the particles vibrate harder and faster, creating more space between the particles,
causing them to expand. This is most visible in metals. This process is thermal expansion. This
can be demonstrated by the ball & ring experiment.
OBSERVATION

• When both the ball and the ring are at the same room temperature, the ball just passes
through the ring.
• When the ball is heated, it does not go through the ring but when left there for sometime,
it goes through.

EXPLANATION

• When heated, the ball expands so that it cannot go through the ring. When left on the ring
for some time, the temperature of the ball decreases and it contracts.
• At the same time, the temperature of the ring increases and it expands so that the ball goes
through.

Expansion of liquids
In liquids, the particles move around faster, weakening the intermolecular forces of attractions,
and are thus held less closely together. The liquid expands. If you want, you can test this out
yourself, by measuring and comparing the volume of the same mass of water, before and after
heating. A common example is the traditional thermometer – as the bulb of the thermometer
heats up, the heat is conducted to the liquid. This causes the liquid to expand, forcing it to rise
up the thermometer. Another example is to use coloured water and heat it. After some time the
coloured water will be seen to rise.
Expansion of gases

In gases, particles move faster as they are heated. If they are heated under constant pressure,
the gas particles collide harder with the container surfaces, forcing them out, and allowing the
gas to expand. This can be seen when warming the gas in a gas syringe.

The heat produced by the hands makes the air inside the flask to expand. This makes the volume
to increase and therefore force the excess air out as bubbles.

Thermal expansion of a bimetallic strip

Thermostats: Thermostat is a temperature regulating device. They are used in air conditioners,
refrigerators, electric oven, electrical heaters, fire alarms, electric iron and also bimetallic
strips.

A bimetallic strip is used to control the thermostat.

 When a brass/(copper)-iron bimetallic strip is heated it bends towards the iron. This means
that brass expands more than iron and this causes the strip to bend towards the iron side. This
shows that different materials expand at different rates when heated.

iron

Dangers of thermal expansion

1. During summers, cracks can be noted on floor ceilings or roads. This is due to the
uneven expansion of concrete and other materials.
2. Gaps are placed in steel railways of trains because in hot weather they expand.
3. Electrical cables are made to sag because on hot weather, they expand and in cold
weather they contract.