Thermal Expansion

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Thermal expansion is in everyday life. All materials behave differently when experiencing temperature changes. From roads to pipelines these changes must be accounted for or else severe or costly consequences may follow. The expansion of the ice in the water bottle in the picture below shows the power of thermal expansion.

 

This website identifies how to calculate thermal expansion of various objects and how temperature changes affect different materials. This website will also give examples of how thermal expansion is used and how it is planned for in structures we encounter in our everyday life.

     Photo Credit:  Jorge Betancourt

This webpage was created by Lindsey Kromrey
Spring 2015 for Physics 212X
University of Alaska Fairbanks