Linear Expansion Apparatus

Linear Expansion Apparatus Heating can be either by a spirit lamp or Bunsen burner.  The Bunsen burner has to be hand-held but gives greater heating.  The effective length of the rod when mounted between the pillars is 210 mm.  Three rods of different metals are provided with thinner versions of two of these.  The spirit lamp has the advantage that it can be placed under each rod and left there.  Two black metal pillars on a grey metal base, both drilled to hold metal specimens in the form of thin rods.  The apparatus, whilst clearly showing qualitative comparisons, is not intended to give accurate quantitative results. An engraved scale with a sprung metal pointer is attached to one of the pillars to record the thermal expansion of the rods.  The pointer has a velocity ratio of 2.5. Moderate heating is sufficient to show that metals expand when heated and that different metals expand by different amounts.