Student Designed Physics 3 Experiment Details
Project Information
- Thermal Expansion Student Designed Project
- Project date : Spring 2022
- Progress Bar: Project Completed
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Project Overview
This student-designed physics experiment investigated how thermal expansion can be used to convert temperature change into mechanical displacement. By creating custom bimetallic strips and incorporating them into a switching circuit, the project demonstrated how temperature differences can trigger mechanical movement, similar to the function of bimetallic thermometers used in real-world applications.
The goal of this project was to demonstrate the principle of thermal expansion and show how it can be applied to practical systems, such as automatic switching mechanisms and temperature control devices.
Key Features
Bimetallic Strip Design
Built aluminum-based bimetallic strips with brass and tin-coated steel to test different expansion rates.
Thermal Switching Mechanism
Used thermal expansion to switch between two light bulbs in a circuit.
Temperature & Displacement Measurement
Collected data with a temperature probe, timer, and LoggerPro to analyze switching thresholds.
Data Analysis & Results
Calculated bending distances, compared them to known values, and analyzed percent error between experimental and theoretical results.