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Related Concept Videos

Thermal Expansion01:22

Thermal Expansion

The expansion of alcohol in a thermometer is one of many commonly encountered examples of thermal expansion, which is the change in size or volume of a given system as its temperature changes. The most visible example is the expansion of hot air. When air is heated, it expands and becomes less dense than the surrounding air, which then exerts an upward force on the hot air to, for example, make steam and smoke rise, and hot air balloons float. The same behavior happens in all liquids and gases,...
Thermal Strain01:19

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Thermal strain is a concept that arises when we consider how temperature changes affect structures. Unlike the conventional assumption that structures remain constant under load, real-world scenarios often involve temperature fluctuations that can significantly impact these structures. Consider a homogeneous rod with a uniform cross-section resting freely on a flat horizontal surface. If the rod's temperature increases, the rod elongates. This elongation is proportional to the temperature...
Heat and Free Expansion01:24

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Thermal expansion and Thermal stress: Problem Solving01:27

Thermal expansion and Thermal stress: Problem Solving

San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge is exposed to temperatures ranging from -15 °C to 40 °C. At its coldest, the main span of the bridge is 1275 m long. Assuming that the bridge is made entirely of steel, what is the change in its length between these temperatures?
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Characterization of Thermal Transport in One-dimensional Solid Materials
05:20

Characterization of Thermal Transport in One-dimensional Solid Materials

Published on: January 26, 2014

Negative thermal expansion in single-component systems with isotropic interactions.

Mikael C Rechtsman1, Frank H Stillinger, Salvatore Torquato

  • 1Department of Physics, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA.

The Journal of Physical Chemistry. A
|November 9, 2007
PubMed
Summary

Researchers developed a new isotropic interaction potential causing negative thermal expansion (NTE) in systems. This groundbreaking discovery, observed in simulations, challenges previous understandings of NTE in isotropic materials.

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Area of Science:

  • Condensed Matter Physics
  • Materials Science
  • Computational Chemistry

Background:

  • Negative thermal expansion (NTE) is an anomalous property where materials contract upon heating.
  • NTE is typically observed in systems with directional interactions, such as zirconium tungstate.
  • Understanding NTE in simpler systems could lead to novel material design.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop an isotropic interaction potential that induces negative thermal expansion (NTE) in many-particle systems.
  • To investigate the NTE behavior in both two- and three-dimensional systems across various temperatures and pressures.
  • To establish the occurrence of NTE in single-component systems with isotropic interactions.

Main Methods:

  • Devised and optimized an isotropic interaction potential with a softened basin of attraction.
  • Employed constant-pressure Monte Carlo simulations to study system behavior.
  • Compared the NTE behavior to that of a standard Lennard-Jones system.

Main Results:

  • The devised isotropic potential successfully induced NTE in 2D and 3D systems.
  • The system exhibited a unique thermal expansion sequence: negative, zero, then positive upon heating.
  • This NTE behavior was observed over a wide range of temperatures and pressures, including zero pressure.

Conclusions:

  • Isotropic interactions can indeed lead to negative thermal expansion in single-component systems.
  • The key feature driving NTE is the softened interior of the potential's basin of attraction.
  • This finding opens new avenues for designing materials with tailored thermal expansion properties.