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Metal Pipe Demo Summary: A Thermodynamic Experiment

Samuel Solomon Sanders

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About the Writing

In a detailed recount of the Metal Pipe Demo, the experimental setup and sequence of events unfold with precision and complexity. From the arrangement of apparatuses on the lab table to the gradual heating process and eventual expulsion of steam, each step of the experiment is meticulously documented for analysis and review.

The Writing

Metal Pipe Demo Summary: A Thermodynamic ExperimentSamuel Solomon Sanders
00:00 / 03:25

SSS

Miércoles, Marzo 1st, 2023

Thermodynamics



Metal Pipe Demo Summary


The apparatuses involved in this experiment were quite fragile, so please note that there were almost certainly changes from the original setup during the observational stage made by participants. These perturbations include but are not limited to touching/movement of the copper pipe, repetitive separation of the diamond-shaped paper from the wooden dowel, and shaking of the lab table. The names of the transgressors can be provided upon request.

A series of apparatuses were on the lab table in this experiment, each linked to the previous. Upon the far left of the table sat two retort stands. The first stand had a clamp attached to its upright rod about 10” above the table, containing wire gauze set upon a ring, which in turn supported a large flat-bottom flask. This flask was filled with an estimated five cups of water and plugged with a holed rubber stopper. This hole extended a short metal straw connected to a long plastic tube leading to the pipe on the second retort stand. This stand merely supported one end of a prolonged (estimated ¾ length of the table) bronze pipe, with the clear plastic tube attached to one end and the opposing end left open. , the pipe was set to rest upon a thin dowel of pencil circumference, which itself was laid upon a wooden box and extended along the table length. The dowel directly intersected the pipe’s path, with a holed paper diamond on the dowel end. This diamond draped over the box edge, not in contact with anything other than the dowel. 

A Bunsen burner was placed beneath the aforementioned flask on wire gauze to set off the experiment. About 10 minutes following the burner placement, condensation began to form upon the interior surface of the glass. This condensation continued to build as time went on, and after waiting 15-20 minutes, the first bubbles appeared at the flask bottom, along with a red-tinged hue on the wire gauze. At about the same time, the condensation reached the point of overflow (or over-rise) into the metal tube and from there to the plastic one. Water slowly passed through the tube towards the metal rod for the next ten minutes, heating it to untouchability. Two events formally concluded this experiment: the eventual expulsion of a gust of hot steam from the open rod end and, following this, the paper diamond and dowel movement. Please note that the diamond’s bottom tip only moved in the opposite direction that the rod pointed and was held there for quite some time. The tip only shifted gradually back to its original position when the Bunsen burner flame after turning off the Bunsen burner.



Thermal Expansion Discussion

Thermal Expansion is the process of a material changing in size, volume, or density as a reaction to its change in temperature. In thermal Expansion, a few things affect this change. For one, the temperature of the warmth or cooling applied to it. For two, the material in the experiment. For three, the amount of the material. Though not all materials expand equally because of different densities of matter and other variables, the role of the thermal expansion coefficient is to describe the rate at which material changes in size, volume, or density per degree. In other words, how much each degree will affect the material?


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