THERMAL PHYSICS By Ms.

Nudrat Haque
Kinetic Model of Matter
The States of Matter
1. The Kinetic Model of Matter states that all
matter is made up of tiny atoms of molecules in continuous motion. 2. Molecular Model of 3 States of Matter: Solid Forces between molecules Strong intermolecula r forces holding molecules in fixed positions Liquid Not as strong in solid, molecules slide. Gas Negligible forces, particles free to move.

random motion. 4. When smoke particles are seen under the microscope, they are observed to move: a. Continuously, and b. Irregularly as they are being bombarded by air molecules which are too small to be seen. c. The smaller smoke particles are observed to move faster than the bigger particles. 5. This shows that the air molecules are in constant random motion. a. Every smoke particle is constantly bombarded by the surrounding air molecules from all directions. b. These bombardments are not balanced and the resultant force acting on the smoke particle causes the random motion of that particle. 6. When the temperature is increased, a. There is more thermal energy converted to kinetic energy of the air molecules, b. allowing them to move faster with more force, c. thus bombarding the smoke particles more often, d. Causing the motion of the smoke particles to become more vigorous and change direction more often.

Density Distance between molecules

Close arrangement of particles High densities Arranged close together in regular pattern Vibrate about fixed positions Not arranged in regular pattern Free to move about confined space

Low. Far apart, mainly empty space Move randomly at high speed, colliding with each other. Can be easily compress ed. Molecule s move even more randomly and collide more.

Pressure in Gases
7. In an air tight container, a. When an air molecule hits the inner wall of the container, a force is exerted. b. At any one time, there are numerous of these collisions acting against the wall of the container. c. The accumulated forces exert a pressure on the wall of the container. d. Thus pressure of a gas is due to the collisions of gas molecules with the walls of the container. 8. The pressure of the gas increases when: a. Volume of container decreases, b. Temperature of gas increases, or c. Number of gas molecules increase. 9. When the volume of gas in the container is reduced,

Motion of molecules

Compressio n

Cannot be compressed as molecules are close together, little space between them. Molecules gain energy, vibrate more, separation between molecules increase slightly Molecules vibrate about more vigorously , thus liquids expands.

When heated

Brownian Motion
3. Brownian motion
shows that air particles are moving about in

a. The area of the walls of the container decreases, b. The number of gas molecules per unit volume increases, c. Thus there is a greater amount of force acting on a smaller area, increasing the pressure of the gas. 10. When the temperature of the gas increases, a. The Kinetic Energy of the gas molecules increases, b. The force on the container due to the collisions and speed of the air molecules increases, c. Thus as the force increase over the same area, the pressure increases. d. The volume of the gas also increases as it expands in order for the pressure to

Transfer of Thermal Energy

12. Thermal Energy always flows from a region
of higher temperature to a region of lower temperature. a. When the temperatures of both regions become the same, the objects are in thermal equilibrium. b. The 3 main mechanism of heat transfer are: i. Conduction, ii.Convection, and iii.Radiation

remain constant. 11. When the number of gas molecules increase, a. There will be more collisions between the molecules and the walls of the container, b. Thus the accumulated forces between the molecules and the container is higher, c. Causing the force per area ratio to increase, increasing the pressure.

Conduction
13. Conduction is the process whereby heat is
transmitted through a medium from one particle to another without any flow of the material medium. There are 2 methods whereby conduction can take place, namely: a. Collisions between neighbouring particles, and b. Flow of free electrons (for heat conductors only) Note: Conduction is the main mode of heat transfer in solids. 14. Collisions between neighbouring particles. a. Particles nearer to heat source gain energy and vibrate faster. b. Particles collide into less energetic neighbouring particles which gains kinetic energy. c. The less energetic particles vibrate faster, collides into other particles. d. Process continues layer by layer to spread the heat to cooler parts. 15. Flow of free electrons (conductors only) a. Electrons near heat source gain energy and move faster. b. Free electrons can move between the particles and collide with other electrons, allowing the less energetic electrons to gain energy and move faster.

c. This process continues to spread the

heat to cooler parts. 16. Therefore, conductors are able to transmit heat faster as both mechanisms above take place at the same time, whereas insulators can transmit heat only through collisions between particles.

b. Surface of the object: Dark and Dull

surfaces tend to be good radiators of radiation. c. Surface area of the object: Objects with a larger surface area will emit infrared radiation at a higher rate.

Convection
17. Convection is the process whereby where heat is transmitted from one place to another by the movement of heated particles of a gas or liquid. a. It is the main mode of heat transfer in fluids. b. The main mechanism of convection is the change in density of liquids. 18. Mechanism of Convection: a. Fluid nearer to heat source gains heat and expands. b. Expansion causes decrease in density for the fluid nearer to heat source, causing it to rise. c. The hotter fluid rises over the cooler fluid while the cooler fluid rushes in to take the space. d. The process continues and a convection current is formed. e. Convection is faster than conduction as there is bulk movement (all the molecules get hot and move up, thus it is faster than conduction. 19. To form a convection current, a. Heating elements are usually placed at the bottom to heat the air so as to make it rise make the cool air sinks for it to be heated. b. Cooling elements are placed at the top to allow the air cooled by the element to sink and allow the warm air to move up and be cooled. 20. Sea breezes and Land breezes are also caused by convection currents.

Applications of Thermal Heat Transfer

23. Good conductors of heat: Used when thermal energy has to be transferred quickly through a substance. a. Cooking Utensils: Kettles and Saucepans are usually made of metal where direct heating is involved. 24. Bad conductors of Heat (Insulators): Used when loss of thermal energy is minimized. a. Handles of appliances and utensils: Saucepans, kettles and teapot handles are made of plastics to ensure that we can carry the appliance without scalding our hands. b. Snow: The Eskimos build their igloos from snow as snow reduces heat loss by conduction (snow is a poor conductor of heat). c. Sawdust: Used to cover ice blocks due to its good insulating property. 25. Common applications of convection: a. Electric Kettles: The heating coil is placed at the bottom of the kettle to aid transfer of thermal energy in water by convection. b. Household hot water systems c. Air conditioners: It is installed near the ceiling of a room to facilitate setting up

Radiation
21. Radiation is a method of heat transfer
whereby the source of heat transmits energy in the form of electromagnetic waves without the aid of a medium. a. Radiation acts in all directions. b. An object that is a good emitter of radiation is also a good absorber of radiation. 22. There are several factors which affect the emission or absorption of radiation of an object: a. Temperature of the object: The higher the temperature the more radiation it emits.

of convection currents. As cool air is denser, it sinks and the warm air is drawn into the air con where it is cooled. 26. Common applications of radiation: a. Teapots: Shiny teapots can keep tea warm for a longer time compared to black teapots. b. Greenhouses: A greenhouse is used in cold climates to help plants grow better by trapping infrared radiation. c. Vacuum Flasks: The vacuum flask is designed to keep liquids hot by minimizing heat loss in 4 ways: i. Conduction, convection, evaporation: Stopper is made of plastic which is a poor conductor of heat, it prevents heat loss through convection and evaporation. ii.Conduction and Convection through the sides of the flask is prevented by the vacuum between the double glass walls of the flask. iii.Radiation: Heat loss is harder to stop as radiant heat can pass through a vacuum.

Volume of fixed mass of liquid Electrical voltage of e.m.f Electrical resistance of a piece of metal Expansion of bimetallic strip (temperature sensor)

Used by Mercury/Alcohol inglass thermometer Used by thermocouple Resistance thermometer When bimetallic strip is hot, it expands

c. Features of a good thermometer i. Easy to read scale ii.Safe to use iii.Sensitive to temperature changes / Accurate (able to react to small changes in temp.) iv.Wide range of temperature 3. Constructing a Temperature Scale a. Choose an appropriate substance (e.g. Mercury) b. Choose 2 fixed points which are easily obtainable and reproducible. E.g. i. Ice Point: Lower fixed point temperature of pure melting ice at 0oC. ii.Steam Point: Upper fixed point temperature at which boiling water changes into steam at r.t.p. (100oC) iii.Read the values of the physical property (e.g. length of mercury column / voltage) at these 2 fixed points. c. Set up the scale. In the Celsius scale of temperature, there are 100 equal divisions between the 2 fixed points.

Temperature
Temperature and Its Measurement
1. Temperature refers to how hot or cold an
object is. a. Heat refers to the amount of thermal energy transferred from a hotter to colder region. b. Thermal energy is also known as heat energy.

Common Temperature Scales

1. The Centigrade scale is a common temperature scale which is based on the ice point and steam point as mentioned earlier. a. To determine the ice point, place the bulb of the thermometer into pure melting crushed ice and make the marking 0oC. b. Experimental Set up: c. To determine the steam point, place the bulb of the thermometer in steam from pure water boiling at r.t.p. Then make the marking 100oC. d. Divide the interval between the ice and steam point into 100 parts, each marking is a measure of 1oC.

2. A thermometer is used to measure

temperature accurately. a. It uses thermometric substances like mercury which have physical properties that vary continuously (changes evenly and continuously when temperature changes). b. E.g. of Physical Properties that change with temperature are:

of liquid Bore (middle) of the capillary tube is narrow and fine

responsive to heat. The fine tube allows a noticeable movement of the liquid column for a small change in temp. (better sensitivity). The uniform tube ensures even expansion of the liquid. This acts as a magnifying glass for easy reading of the mercury thread in the stem.

The walls of the long tube above the bulb are made of glass. 2. The general equation for the Centigrade Scale used to summarize the relationship between the temperature and the length of mercury: a.

1. Features of the Clinical Thermometer: The bore of capillary tube is very fine. This allows for rapid conduction of heat through the thin glass wall to the mercury contained in the bulb. It allows for greater accuracy and shorten the length of the stem.

X X 0 100oC X 100 X 0

b. Note: The numerator represents the measured length whereas the denominator represents the total length / range of the thermometer. c. X can be any physical property that varies uniformly with temperature.

3. The Kelvin Scale is based on the theory

that there is a lowest positive temperature in the universe known as the absolute zero. a. At 0 K (absolute zero), it is the temperature whereby all possible thermal energy has been transferred from the body. b. The unit for this is Kelvin (K). The unit for Kelvin is the same as Celsius, but it starts at absolute zero. c. Thus to convert from: i. Kelvin Celsius: Add 273oC. ii.Celsius Kelvin: Subtract 273K.

The scale is limited to a small range between 35oC and 42oC. Narrow constriction above the bulb

This ensures that the maximum temperature of the body is recorded (prevents the contracting mercury from flowing back into the bulb when taken out of mouth) Acts as a magnifying glass in 1 direction for easy reading of the mercury thread.

Walls of stem of thermometer ispear shaped???

Liquid in Glass Thermometer

4. Features of the laboratory thermometer. Liquid is contained in a thin-wall glass bulb. The thin wall allows conduction of heat quicklythrough the glass to the liquid. This is to make the thermometer more responsive to temperature changes. To allow it to be more

2. The sensitivity of a mercury in glass thermometer can be increased by a. Using a narrower capillary tube, and b. Using a bigger mercury bulb.

Differences between Mercury and Alcohol Thermometer

3. Here are some differences why you would choose a mercury thermometer over an alcohol thermometer and vice versa. Mercury Uniform Expansion Stick to glass Yes No (visible meniscus) Alcohol No (irregular expansion) Yes (transparent,

Bulb contains small amounts

need to be dyed) Reaction to temperature changes Range: Freezing to Boiling Point Cost Poisonous Quick Slow

-39oC 357oC

-78oC 115oC

Expensive Yes

Cheap No

Thermocouple Thermometer
4. A thermocouple consists of 2 types of wires
made of different metals such as copper and iron. a. The ends of the wires are joined together to form 2 junctions, 1 in steady temperature and the other in unknown temperature. b. The temperature is then calculated using readings of the voltmeter. c. When the junctions are at different temperatures, a voltage is produced. d. The larger the temperature difference, the larger the voltage produced.

e. Advantages of a thermocouple thermometer: i. Able to measure a large temperature range by choosing different materials for the wires. ii.Thermometer can be used to measure temperatures at a point as wire junctions are very small. iii.This also allows it to be more responsive to rapidly changing temperatures due to small wire junctions and good conductors of metals. f. As the output is an electrical signal, it can be connected to a computer for checking rapid/sudden temperature changes.