Chapter 9

TEMPERATURE; THERMAL EXPANSION

Temperature is a measure of the hotness or coldness of an object.

 It is that property of object that determines the direction of flow of heat. Heat can flow only from a body
at a higher temperature to one at a lower temperature.
 Temperature does not measure the amount of heat present in an object/substance.
 One objective idea of temperature is obtained from the sensation of warmth or cold that we experience
on touching an object.

Thermal equilibrium exists when there is no net transfer of heat between two objects.
 An inanimate object without a built-in heating system will eventually attain the temperature of the
environment.

Thermometer is the most common instrument used for measuring temperature.

 A thermometer scale is established by choosing a simple relation between a measurable physical property
& temperature, the zero of the scale being fixed by assigning a numerical value to an easily reproducible
temperature (triple point of water).

A thermometric property of matter is a property that varies predictably with an increase or decrease in heat
energy.
Comparison of the Three Temperature Scales
°C °F K

100° boiling point of water 212° 373

37° body temperature 98.6° 310

0° freezing point of water 32° 273

– 273° absolute zero – 459.6° 0

Conversions between Celsius an Fahrenheit scale is done b y simple proportion

C−0 ° 100 °−0 °
=
F−32 ° 212 °−32 °
(a) from Celsius to Fahrenheit
T° F = ( 95 ) (T °C ) +32
(b) from Fahrenheit to Celsius
T ∘ F−32
5
T° C= 9 ( T ° F−32 ) = 1. 8
Absolute Scales
T ° R = T ° F + 460 TK = T ° C + 273
The International Practical Temperature Scale (IPTS) specifies
1. the values assigned to fixed points
2. the standard instruments (thermocouple, resistance thermometer, & optical pyrometer) to be calibrated
at those fixed points, &
3. the equations to be used in calculating temperatures from the indications of the instruments.

Examples:

Thermal Expansions
 The expansivity is the fractional change (in length or in volume) per degree change in temperature.

Two frequently observed effects of temperature changes are

1. change in size, &
2. change of state of materials (which will be discussed in the later chapter)

I Linear Expansion of Solids

 When a solid is subjected to a rise in temperature (T), its increase in length (L) is very nearly
proportional to its initial length (Lo) multiplied by T, thus
∆L
L = LoT or =
Lo ∆T
where:  = (the proportionality constant) is called the coefficient of linear expansion; its value
depends on the nature of the substance.
= change in length per unit initial length per degree change in temperature, /C 
or /F.
L = Lf – Lo = change in length
T = Tf – To = change in temperature
Lf = L0 + L
Examples:

II Volume Expansion
 The volume expansivity for a material is the change in volume per unit volume per degree rise in
temperature.
V f −V o ∆V
= =
V o ∆ T V o ∆T
where:  = is the average volume expansivity of the material
Vf = final volume of the material at temperature T f
Vo = the volume at 0C
T = the temperature change

 A simple approximation relation between the linear expansivity for an isotropic solid & the corresponding
volume expansivity
  3
Examples