Thermal Expansion - Linear
Description
Thermal expansion is the tendency of matter to change in volume in response to a change in temperature through heat transfer. When a substance is heated, the kinetic energy of its molecules increases. Thus, the molecules begin moving more and usually maintain a greater average separation. To a first approximation, the change in length measurements of an object (“linear dimension”) due to thermal expansion is related to temperature change by a “linear expansion coefficient”.
Related formulasVariables
ΔL | change in length (m) |
aL | coefficient of linear expansion (K-1) |
L | reference length measurement (m) |
ΔT | change in temperature (K) |