Heat and Its Effects

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and concepts related to thermal energy, state changes, thermal expansion, bimetallic devices, and temperature scales from the lecture notes.

Caloric

A theoretical fluid that scientists until the end of the eighteenth century believed was gained by a body when it was heated and lost when it was cooled.

Thermal energy

A form of energy established by Count Rumford and James Prescott in the beginning of the nineteenth century, corresponding to the energy of movement of molecules in a substance.

Expansion

The increase in the volume and space occupied by a substance when heated due to an increase in molecular movement and average distance between molecules.

Ring-and-ball apparatus

An experimental apparatus consisting of a metal ring and a metal ball used to demonstrate that solids expand upon heating.

Bimetallic strip

A strip made of two different metals, such as iron and brass, firmly bolted together, which bends when heated because brass expands more than iron.

Pyrex glass

A special type of glass that expands very little when heated, preventing it from cracking when very hot liquid is poured into it.

Temperature

The degree of hotness or coldness of a body, or the quantity by which we can compare the hotness or coldness of bodies.

Lower fixed point

The temperature at which pure water freezes at sea level, taken as $0\,^\circ\text{C}$ on the Celsius scale and $32\,^\circ\text{F}$ on the Fahrenheit scale.

Upper fixed point

The temperature at which pure water boils at sea level, taken as $100\,^\circ\text{C}$ on the Celsius scale and $212\,^\circ\text{F}$ on the Fahrenheit scale.

Kelvin scale

The temperature scale used for scientific work.