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Thermal expansion
Thermal expansion is the tendency of matter to increase in length, area, or volume, changing its size and density, in response to an increase in temperature (usually excluding phase transitions). Substances usually contract with decreasing temperature (thermal contraction), with rare exceptions within limited temperature ranges (negative thermal expansion).
Temperature is a monotonic function of the average molecular kinetic energy of a substance. As energy in particles increases, they start moving faster and faster, weakening the intermolecular forces between them and therefore expanding the substance. When a substance is heated, molecules begin to vibrate and move more, usually creating more distance between themselves.
The relative expansion (also called strain) divided by the change in temperature is called the material's coefficient of linear thermal expansion and generally varies with temperature.
If an equation of state is available, it can be used to predict the values of the thermal expansion at all the required temperatures and pressures, along with many other state functions.
A number of materials contract on heating within certain temperature ranges; this is usually called negative thermal expansion, rather than "thermal contraction". For example, the coefficient of thermal expansion of water drops to zero as it is cooled to 3.983 °C (39.169 °F) and then becomes negative below this temperature; this means that water has a maximum density at this temperature, and this leads to bodies of water maintaining this temperature at their lower depths during extended periods of sub-zero weather.
Other materials are also known to exhibit negative thermal expansion. Fairly pure silicon has a negative coefficient of thermal expansion for temperatures between about 18 and 120 kelvins (−255 and −153 °C; −427 and −244 °F). ALLVAR Alloy 30, a titanium alloy, exhibits anisotropic negative thermal expansion across a wide range of temperatures.
Unlike gases or liquids, solid materials tend to keep their shape when undergoing thermal expansion.
Thermal expansion generally decreases with increasing bond energy, which also has an effect on the melting point of solids, so high melting point materials are more likely to have lower thermal expansion. In general, liquids expand slightly more than solids. The thermal expansion of glasses is slightly higher compared to that of crystals. At the glass transition temperature, rearrangements that occur in an amorphous material lead to characteristic discontinuities of the coefficient of thermal expansion and specific heat. These discontinuities allow detection of the glass transition temperature where a supercooled liquid transforms into a glass.
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Thermal expansion AI simulator
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Thermal expansion
Thermal expansion is the tendency of matter to increase in length, area, or volume, changing its size and density, in response to an increase in temperature (usually excluding phase transitions). Substances usually contract with decreasing temperature (thermal contraction), with rare exceptions within limited temperature ranges (negative thermal expansion).
Temperature is a monotonic function of the average molecular kinetic energy of a substance. As energy in particles increases, they start moving faster and faster, weakening the intermolecular forces between them and therefore expanding the substance. When a substance is heated, molecules begin to vibrate and move more, usually creating more distance between themselves.
The relative expansion (also called strain) divided by the change in temperature is called the material's coefficient of linear thermal expansion and generally varies with temperature.
If an equation of state is available, it can be used to predict the values of the thermal expansion at all the required temperatures and pressures, along with many other state functions.
A number of materials contract on heating within certain temperature ranges; this is usually called negative thermal expansion, rather than "thermal contraction". For example, the coefficient of thermal expansion of water drops to zero as it is cooled to 3.983 °C (39.169 °F) and then becomes negative below this temperature; this means that water has a maximum density at this temperature, and this leads to bodies of water maintaining this temperature at their lower depths during extended periods of sub-zero weather.
Other materials are also known to exhibit negative thermal expansion. Fairly pure silicon has a negative coefficient of thermal expansion for temperatures between about 18 and 120 kelvins (−255 and −153 °C; −427 and −244 °F). ALLVAR Alloy 30, a titanium alloy, exhibits anisotropic negative thermal expansion across a wide range of temperatures.
Unlike gases or liquids, solid materials tend to keep their shape when undergoing thermal expansion.
Thermal expansion generally decreases with increasing bond energy, which also has an effect on the melting point of solids, so high melting point materials are more likely to have lower thermal expansion. In general, liquids expand slightly more than solids. The thermal expansion of glasses is slightly higher compared to that of crystals. At the glass transition temperature, rearrangements that occur in an amorphous material lead to characteristic discontinuities of the coefficient of thermal expansion and specific heat. These discontinuities allow detection of the glass transition temperature where a supercooled liquid transforms into a glass.