Question

What are some examples of thermal expansion?

Answer 1

Hint: Thermal expansion is the aim of matter to alter its shape, volume, area, and density to acknowledge a temperature difference. Thermal expansion is linked to a change of temperature. The higher the temperature difference, the more the object will expand. Second, it is dependent on the material. For example, in a thermometer, the expansion of alcohol is much more significant than the expansion of the glass containing it.

Complete step-by-step solution:
Thermal expansion is the reason for heating solids, liquids, or gases, causing the particle to travel faster or vibrate more. It determines that the particle carries larger spaces, and so the material extends. There are some examples:
$1$) If we worked to unscrew a tight lid off a glass jar, the expansion effect is significant. When some warm water flows over the metal lid for several seconds to heat the lid up, this will cause the lid to expand lightly and be easier to unscrew.
$2$) Bridges have a large span, and in warm weather, the bridge's materials will expand. It could make the bridge sections buckle. To avoid it, expansion joints are created into the bridge so that the bridge sections can extend easily without buckling.
$3$) A liquid, when boiled, will expand and can be executed to raise a tube. Thermometers utilize liquid expansion such as alcohol or mercury to estimate the temperature using a calibrated scale.
$4$) A bimetallic layer has two strips fixed together, and one of these metals expands more for each degree temperature rise than that other. It causes the bimetallic strip to curve as it is heated. This action can act as an electrical switch by joining a circuit, for example, to switch on a fan when the room temperature gets too heated.
Additional Information: - Thermal expansion usually reduces with rising bond energy, affecting the melting point of solids, so high melting point substances result in lower thermal expansion. In general, liquids enlarge more than solids. The thermal expansion of glasses is more powerful compared to that of crystals.

Note: A temperature rise indicates an increment in the kinetic energy of the different atoms. In a solid, the atoms are nearly packed collectively. Still, their kinetic energy forces neighbouring atoms to separate from each other. It results in a slightly larger distance, on average, between neighbours and sums up to a bigger size for the whole body.