We present a study of the maximum stress supported by elastics bands of nitrile as a function of the natural length and the load time. The maximum tension of rupture and the corresponding variation in length were found by measuring the elongation of an elastic band when a mass is suspended from its free end until it reaches the breaking point. The…

We have analytically explored the thermodynamics of free Bose and Fermi gases for the entire range of temperature, and have extended the same for harmonically trapped cases. We have obtained approximate chemical potentials for the quantum gases in closed forms of temperature so that the thermodynamic properties of the quantum gases become…

While the Clausius-Clapeyron equation is very important as it determines the saturation vapour pressure, in practice it is replaced by empirical, typically Magnus-type, equations which are more accurate. It is shown that the reduced accuracy reflects an inconsistent assumption that the latent heat of vaporization is constant. Not only is this…

We introduce the photoacoustic educational system (PAES), by which we can identify which gas causes the greenhouse effect in a classroom (Kaneko "et al" 2010 "J. Chem. Educ." 87 202-4). PAES is an experimental system in which a pulse of infrared (IR) is absorbed into gas as internal energy, an oscillation of pressure (sound) appears, and then we…

A simple low-cost experiment for undergraduate students to determine the characteristics of a negative temperature coefficient of resistance thermistor is presented. The experiment measures the resistance-temperature and voltage-temperature characteristics of the thermistor. Results of the resistance-temperature experiment are used to determine…

Liquid-free cryogenic devices are acquiring importance in basic science and engineering. But they can also lead to improvements in teaching low temperature and solid-state physics to graduate students and specialists. Most of the devices are relatively expensive, but small-sized equipment is slowly becoming available. Here, we have designed…

The two-level system and the Einstein model of a crystalline solid are taught in every course of statistical mechanics and they are solved in the microcanonical formalism because the number of accessible microstates can be easily evaluated. However, their solutions are usually presented using the Stirling approximation to deal with factorials. In…

It is shown that the well-known linear variation of p-n diode terminal voltage with temperature at different fixed forward currents allows easy and accurate determination of the semiconductor ideality factor and bandgap from only two data points. This is possible if the temperature difference required to maintain the same diode voltage drop can be…

We study the greenhouse effect on a model satellite consisting of a tungsten sphere surrounded by a thin spherical, concentric glass shell, with a small gap between the sphere and the shell. The system sits in vacuum and is heated by sunlight incident along the "z"-axis. This development is a generalization of the simple treatment of the…

This paper describes an interesting sound phenomenon from a modern copy of the Chinese ancient variable bell which can emit distinctly different sounds at different temperatures. By means of audition--spectrum analyser software--and PC, the sound signals of the variable bell are collected and the fundamental spectra are shown on the PC. The…

This paper presents an analysis of the thermal behaviour of objects exposed to a solar-type flux of thermal radiation. It aims to clarify certain apparent inconsistencies between theory and observation, and to give a detailed exposition of some critical points that physics textbooks usually treat in an insufficient or incorrect way. In particular,…

This paper deals with temperature variations over time of objects placed in a constant-temperature environment in the presence of thermal radiation. After a historical introduction, the paper discusses cooling and warming laws, by taking into account first solely object-environment energy exchange by thermal radiation, and then adding…

In this paper a simplified two-parameter model of the greenhouse effect on the Earth is developed, starting from the well known two-layer model. It allows both the analysis of the temperatures of the inner planets, by focusing on the role of the greenhouse effect, and a comparison between the temperatures the planets should have in the absence of…

A procedure modelling ideal classical and quantum gases is discussed. The proposed approach is mainly based on the idea that modelling and algorithm analysis can provide a deeper understanding of particularly complex physical systems. Appropriate representations and physical models able to mimic possible pseudo-mechanisms of functioning and having…

The research on the cooling law began with an article by Newton published in 1701. Later, many studies were performed by other scientists confirming or confuting Newton's law. This paper presents a description and an interpretation of Newton's article, provides a short overview of the research conducted on the topic during the 18th century, and…