Thermal Properties

of Matter
Thermal Expansion
 Thermal Expansion
Thermal expansion is the increase in volume of a substance due to the increase in temperature.

 Most substances – solids, liquids, and gases- expand as the temperature rises, and contract as the
temperature falls.
 When materials are heated, the particles in a substance vibrate more and move apart to occupy more
space.
 When materials are heated, their particles gain energy faster and take more space.

 When materials get cold, the vibrations become smaller. The particles move closer to each other and
take less space.
 Gases expand more than liquids while liquids expand more than solids.

 When the expansion and contraction happen, the size of the molecules doesn’t change.
Thermal Expansion
Thermal Expansion
 Hot Riveting

 Rivets are short cylindrical pieces of ductile metal

used to join two or more metal sheets, plates,
and rolled sections.
 They are used in ships, bridges, and aerospace
industries.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/o7FW33EDp8I
 Application of Thermal
Expansion
 Expansions and contractions of solids are sometimes useful while at times they cause many
technical and engineering problems.

 Thermal expansion of solid is used

I. To fix a steel tyre around the wheel of a train

II. To remove a tight metal cap of a glass jar

III. In bimetallic thermostat

Application of Thermal
Expansion
 Bimetallic Strip

 A bimetallic strip is designed to bend as it

gets hot. The strip is made of two different
metals joined firmly.
 One metal expands much more than the
other. The metal that expands more is on
the outside of curve.
 Bimetallic strips are used in devices such
as fire alarms and thermostats.
 Thermostats are used to control the
temperature of devices such as irons and
ovens.
Bimetallic Strip
 Compensations for
Thermal Expansion
Rails are made of steel, which expands on heating
and contract on cooling. If rails are fixed tightly
leaving no space for expansion or contraction, theses
will bend outward in summer and will result in
derailment of trains.
To avoid this, small gaps are left between the rails.
The rails are then joined by fishplates. In summer the
gaps get smaller and winter bigger, but rail by itself
remains straight.
 Compensations for Thermal
Expansion
 Cement floor and concrete roads are not laid as one block. It is because they expand during
summer. As there will not be any space for expansion, therefore, they will crack.
 Instead they are laid in small blocks or sections leaving a very small space in between them
filled with pitch or tar. This, in turn, allows for expansion, and hence the floor does not crack.
 Compensations for Thermal
Expansion
 When hot liquid is poured into a thick walled glass
container, the inner surface of the container
rapidly gets expanded, while the outer surface
remains at room temperature. Thus there is no
expansion on the outer surface. Due to uneven
expansion in the surfaces, the glass cracks.
 To reduce the chance of cracking, Pyrex glass
has been developed which expands very little on
heating.
 Thermometers

 Thermometers use the expansion of a liquid to measure the

temperature.
 As the temperature of the liquid rises, it expands and the level of
the liquid in the tube rises.
 As the temperature drops, the volume of the liquid in the
thermometer drops as well.
 The simplest type of thermometer contains mercury scaled in a
glass tube.
 Alcohol is another liquid used commonly in thermometer. Alcohol
remains liquid at very low temperatures.
 The Expansion of Gases

 Molecules within gases are further apart and

weakly attracted to each other.
 When gas is heated, its particles move faster.
They push with greater force which causes the
gas to expand.
 The same kind of gas has lower density when it is
hot.
Hang Gliding
Check Point
Check Point
Check Point
Check Point
 Internal Energy

 Internal energy is a measure of the total energy of the particles in the object.

 It includes both the kinetic energy of the particles and chemical potential energy of the bonds
between them.
 Internal Energy and
Temeprature
 The tea has higher
temperature than the bath so
its particles move faster.
However, the bath has far more
particles and stores more
energy.
 The internal energy of the bath
is greater than the internal
energy of the tea.
Specific Heat Capacity
 Specific Heat Capacity
 The specific heat capacity of a substance is the amount of energy required to raise the
temperature of 1 Kg of the substance by 1ºC.
Specific Heat Capacity
 Specific Heat Capacity

 To change the temperature of a body means to change the average kinetic energy of its particles.

 The particles of different substances have different masses. The number of particles in 1 Kg of a
substance depends on the mass of those particle. This explains why different substances have
different specific heat capacities.
 For example, the mass of an atom of iron is about twice the mass of an atom of aluminum. So, 1Kg
of aluminum must contain about twice as many atoms as 1Kg of iron. We would therefore expect the
specific heat capacity of aluminum to be about twice that of iron.
 Specific Heat of Water

 The specific heat of water is high compared with most other substances which affects the climate.

 the temperature of seawater rises and falls much more slowly than that of land. Therefore, the daily
temperature difference in such areas is much smaller than inland areas of the same latitude.
 Because of the high heat capacity of water, costal areas have cool summers and mild winters.
 Changing State

 When the internal energy flows into an object one

of two things can happen

I. Either the kinetic energy of the particles

can increase ( temperature goes up)

OR
II. the potential energy of the particles can
increase (bonds break and temperature
remains constant)
Changing State
 Evaporation and Boiling

 When pure liquid is heated and changes to

vapor at fixed or constant temperature, this
change is called boiling.
 The temperature at which this occurs is called
the boiling point of the substance.
 When the molecules evaporate and escape
the surface of the liquid, they leave behind
molecules with less kinetic energy. The
average kinetic energy (temperature) of the
remaining liquid is reduced.
Evaporation and Boiling
Evaporation