Thermal Expansion of Solids and Liquids

Learning Objectives

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

Define and describe thermal expansion.
Calculate the linear expansion of an object given its initial length, change in temperature, and coefficient of linear expansion.
Calculate the volume expansion of an object given its initial volume, change in temperature, and coefficient of volume expansion.
Calculate thermal stress on an object given its original volume, temperature change, volume change, and bulk modulus.

Figure 1. Thermal expansion joints like these in the Auckland Harbour Bridge in New Zealand allow bridges to change length without buckling. (credit: Ingolfson, Wikimedia Commons)

The expansion of alcohol in a thermometer is one of many commonly encountered examples of thermal expansion, the change in size or volume of a given mass with temperature. Hot air rises because its volume increases, which causes the hot air’s density to be smaller than the density of surrounding air, causing a buoyant (upward) force on the hot air. The same happens in all liquids and gases, driving natural heat transfer upwards in homes, oceans, and weather systems. Solids also undergo thermal expansion. Railroad tracks and bridges, for example, have expansion joints to allow them to freely expand and contract with temperature changes.

What are the basic properties of thermal expansion? First, thermal expansion is clearly related to temperature change. The greater the temperature change, the more a bimetallic strip will bend. Second, it depends on the material. In a thermometer, for example, the expansion of alcohol is much greater than the expansion of the glass containing it.

What is the underlying cause of thermal expansion? As is discussed in Kinetic Theory: Atomic and Molecular Explanation of Pressure and Temperature, an increase in temperature implies an increase in the kinetic energy of the individual atoms. In a solid, unlike in a gas, the atoms or molecules are closely packed together, but their kinetic energy (in the form of small, rapid vibrations) pushes neighboring atoms or molecules apart from each other. This neighbor-to-neighbor pushing results in a slightly greater distance, on average, between neighbors, and adds up to a larger size for the whole body. For most substances under ordinary conditions, there is no preferred direction, and an increase in temperature will increase the solid’s size by a certain fraction in each dimension.

Linear Thermal Expansion—Thermal Expansion in One Dimension

The change in length ΔL is proportional to length L. The dependence of thermal expansion on temperature, substance, and length is summarized in the equation ΔL = αLΔT,where ΔL is the change in length L, ΔT is the change in temperature, and α is the coefficient of linear expansion, which varies slightly with temperature.

Table 1 lists representative values of the coefficient of linear expansion, which may have units of 1/ºC or 1/K. Because the size of a kelvin and a degree Celsius are the same, both α and ΔT can be expressed in units of kelvins or degrees Celsius. The equation ΔL = αLΔT is accurate for small changes in temperature and can be used for large changes in temperature if an average value of α is used.

Table 1. Thermal Expansion Coefficients at 20ºC^[1]
Material	Coefficient of linear expansion α(1/ºC)	Coefficient of volume expansion β(1/ºC)
Solids
Aluminum	25 × 10^{– 6}	75 × 10^{– 6}
Brass	19 × 10^{– 6}	56 × 10^{– 6}
Copper	17 × 10^{– 6}	51 × 10^{– 6}
Gold	14 × 10^{– 6}	42 × 10^{– 6}
Iron or Steel	12 × 10^{– 6}	35 × 10^{– 6}
Invar (Nickel-iron alloy)	0.9 × 10^{– 6}	2.7 × 10^{– 6}
Lead	29 × 10^{– 6}	87 × 10^{– 6}
Silver	18 × 10^{– 6}	54 × 10^{– 6}
Glass (ordinary)	9 × 10^{– 6}	27 × 10^{– 6}
Glass (Pyrex®)	3 × 10^{– 6}	9 × 10^{– 6}
Quartz	0.4 × 10^{– 6}	1 × 10^{– 6}
Concrete, Brick	~12 × 10^{– 6}	~36 × 10^{– 6}
Marble (average)	2.5 × 10^{– 6}	7.5 × 10^{– 6}
Liquids
Ether		1650 × 10^{– 6}
Ethyl alcohol		1100 × 10^{– 6}
Petrol		950 × 10^{– 6}
Glycerin		500 × 10^{– 6}
Mercury		180 × 10^{– 6}
Water		210 × 10^{– 6}
Gases
Air and most other gases at atmospheric pressure		3400 × 10^{– 6}

Example 1. Calculating Linear Thermal Expansion: The Golden Gate Bridge

The main span of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge is 1275 m long at its coldest. The bridge is exposed to temperatures ranging from –15ºC to 40ºC. What is its change in length between these temperatures? Assume that the bridge is made entirely of steel.

Strategy

Use the equation for linear thermal expansion ΔL = αLΔT to calculate the change in length , ΔL. Use the coefficient of linear expansion, α, for steel from Table 1, and note that the change in temperature, ΔT, is 55ºC.

Solution

Plug all of the known values into the equation to solve for ΔL.

[latex]\Delta{L}=\alpha{L}\Delta{L}=\left(\frac{12\times10^{-6}}{^{\circ}\text{C}}\right)\left(1275\text{ m}\right)\left(55^{\circ}\text{C}\right)=0.84\text{ m}\\[/latex]

Discussion

Although not large compared with the length of the bridge, this change in length is observable. It is generally spread over many expansion joints so that the expansion at each joint is small.

Thermal Expansion in Two and Three Dimensions

Objects expand in all dimensions, as illustrated in Figure 2. That is, their areas and volumes, as well as their lengths, increase with temperature. Holes also get larger with temperature. If you cut a hole in a metal plate, the remaining material will expand exactly as it would if the plug was still in place. The plug would get bigger, and so the hole must get bigger too. (Think of the ring of neighboring atoms or molecules on the wall of the hole as pushing each other farther apart as temperature increases. Obviously, the ring of neighbors must get slightly larger, so the hole gets slightly larger).

Thermal Expansion in Two Dimensions

For small temperature changes, the change in area ΔA is given by ΔA = 2αAΔT, where ΔA is the change in area A, ΔT is the change in temperature, and α is the coefficient of linear expansion, which varies slightly with temperature.

Part a shows the outline of a flat metal plate before and after expansion. After expansion, it has the same shape and ratio of dimensions as before, but it takes up a greater area. Part b shows the outline of a flat metal plate with a hole in it, before and after expansion. The hole expands. Part c shows the outline of a rectangular box before and after expansion. After expansion, the box has the same proportions as before expansion, but it has a greater volume.

Figure 2. In general, objects expand in all directions as temperature increases. In these drawings, the original boundaries of the objects are shown with solid lines, and the expanded boundaries with dashed lines. (a) Area increases because both length and width increase. The area of a circular plug also increases. (b) If the plug is removed, the hole it leaves becomes larger with increasing temperature, just as if the expanding plug were still in place. (c) Volume also increases, because all three dimensions increase.

Thermal Expansion in Three Dimensions

The change in volume ΔV is very nearly ΔV = 3αVΔT. This equation is usually written as ΔV = βVΔT, where β is the coefficient of volume expansion and β ≈ 3α. Note that the values of β in Table 1 are almost exactly equal to 3α.

In general, objects will expand with increasing temperature. Water is the most important exception to this rule. Water expands with increasing temperature (its density decreases) when it is at temperatures greater than 4ºC (40ºF). However, it expands with decreasing temperature when it is between +4ºC and 0ºC (40ºF to 32ºF). Water is densest at +4ºC. (See Figure 3.) Perhaps the most striking effect of this phenomenon is the freezing of water in a pond. When water near the surface cools down to 4ºC it is denser than the remaining water and thus will sink to the bottom. This “turnover” results in a layer of warmer water near the surface, which is then cooled. Eventually the pond has a uniform temperature of 4ºC. If the temperature in the surface layer drops below 4ºC, the water is less dense than the water below, and thus stays near the top. As a result, the pond surface can completely freeze over. The ice on top of liquid water provides an insulating layer from winter’s harsh exterior air temperatures. Fish and other aquatic life can survive in 4ºC water beneath ice, due to this unusual characteristic of water. It also produces circulation of water in the pond that is necessary for a healthy ecosystem of the body of water.

A graph of density of freshwater in grams per cubic centimeter versus temperature in degrees Celsius. The line is convex up. At zero degrees C, the density is just under zero point nine nine nine five grams per cubic centimeter. The density then increases at a decreasing rate until it hits a peak of about zero point nine nine nine nine seven grams per cubic centimeter at about four degrees C. Above four degrees C, the density decreases with increasing temperature.

Figure 3. The density of water as a function of temperature. Note that the thermal expansion is actually very small. The maximum density at +4ºC is only 0.0075% greater than the density at 2ºC, and 0.012% greater than that at 0ºC.

Making Connections: Real-World Connections—Filling the Tank

Figure 4. Because the gas expands more than the gas tank with increasing temperature, you can’t drive as many miles on “empty” in the summer as you can in the winter. (credit: Hector Alejandro, Flickr)

Differences in the thermal expansion of materials can lead to interesting effects at the gas station. One example is the dripping of gasoline from a freshly filled tank on a hot day. Gasoline starts out at the temperature of the ground under the gas station, which is cooler than the air temperature above. The gasoline cools the steel tank when it is filled. Both gasoline and steel tank expand as they warm to air temperature, but gasoline expands much more than steel, and so it may overflow.

This difference in expansion can also cause problems when interpreting the gasoline gauge. The actual amount (mass) of gasoline left in the tank when the gauge hits “empty” is a lot less in the summer than in the winter. The gasoline has the same volume as it does in the winter when the “add fuel” light goes on, but because the gasoline has expanded, there is less mass. If you are used to getting another 40 miles on “empty” in the winter, beware—you will probably run out much more quickly in the summer.

Example 2. Calculating Thermal Expansion: Gas vs. Gas Tank

Suppose your 60.0-L (15.9-gal) steel gasoline tank is full of gas, so both the tank and the gasoline have a temperature of 15.0ºC. How much gasoline has spilled by the time they warm to 35.0ºC?