Faculty Publications
Thermal Expansion Of Solids: A Simple Classical Model
Document Type
Article
Journal/Book/Conference Title
European Journal of Physics
Volume
18
Issue
3
First Page
237
Last Page
240
Abstract
The usual textbook derivation of the thermal expansion of solids based on the Taylor expansion of the interatomic potential is re-examined. It is shown that the simple theory presented in textbooks not only fails at low temperatures, but that the seemingly reasonable high-temperature result is fortuitous. An alternative classical model is presented, which is based on calculating the time-averaged interatomic distance as a function of temperature. The model is applied to the case of solid argon, as an example, to show the excellent agreement with experiment. Since simple numerical computations form an integral part of the undergraduate physics curriculum, this model presents an attractive alternative to the current treatments in the elementary textbooks.
Department
Department of Physics
Original Publication Date
5-1-1997
DOI of published version
10.1088/0143-0807/18/3/019
Recommended Citation
Mohazzabi, P. and Behroozi, F., "Thermal Expansion Of Solids: A Simple Classical Model" (1997). Faculty Publications. 3989.
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/facpub/3989
