Question

A common way of opening a tight lid on a glass jar is to place it under warm water. The thermal expansion of the metal lid is greater than that of the glass jar; thus, the space between the two expands and it is easier to open the jar. Will this work for a metal lid on a container of the same kind of metal?

Name: Problem 10, Chapter 17: University Physics with Modern Physics
Uploaded: 2021-06-20T09:42:00-08:00
Duration: 1 min 39 s
Channel: Shahab Ullah
Description: A common way of opening a tight lid on a glass jar is to place it under warm water. The thermal expansion of the metal lid is greater than that of the glass jar; thus, the space between the two expands and it is easier to open the jar. Will this work for a metal lid on a container of the same kind of metal?

    A common way of opening a tight lid on a glass jar is to place it under warm water. The thermal expansion of the metal lid is greater than that of the glass jar; thus, the space between the two expands and it is easier to open the jar. Will this work for a metal lid on a container of the same kind of metal?

University Physics with Modern Physics

Wolfgang Bauer, Gary… 1st Edition

Chapter 17, Problem 10

Instant Answer

Solved by Expert Shahab Ullah

06/20/2021

Step 1

When an object is heated, its particles move more and it takes up a larger volume - this is thermal expansion. Show more…

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A common way of opening a tight lid on a glass jar is to place it under warm water. The thermal expansion of the metal lid is greater than that of the glass jar; thus, the space between the two expands and it is easier to open the jar. Will this work for a metal lid on a container of the same kind of metal?

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Key Concepts

Thermal Expansion

Thermal expansion is a phenomenon where a material increases in volume or changes in shape as its temperature rises. This behavior is utilized in many practical applications, like loosening a tight lid by increasing the space between components when heated.

Coefficient of Thermal Expansion

The coefficient of thermal expansion quantifies how much a given material expands per unit change in temperature. Different materials have different values for this coefficient, which means that when heated together, they may expand by different amounts.

Differential Expansion

Differential expansion occurs when two materials with different coefficients of thermal expansion are heated, resulting in each material expanding by a different amount. This difference can create gaps or relieve pressures, which is why a warm water treatment might ease the opening of a glass jar with a metal lid, but not work when both the container and the lid are made of the same metal.

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