Skip to main content
 

Favorite Demonstration: Demonstrating a Thermodynamics Fountain

Journal of College Science Teaching—May 2002

Cryogenic materials, mainly liquefied and solidified gases, are probably the most fascinating materials to use for demonstrating chemical reactions to introductory college students. A popular series of articles (Blachley 1997; Coppola et al. 1994; Haub 2001; Hughes and Haworth 1992; Stamm and Franz 1992) has been published presenting very effective and attractive demonstrations using liquefied gases. The authors describe two versions of a straightforward experiment that illustrates the concepts of energy/heat flow and conversion of heat to mechanical work. It uses a water fountain powered by the expansion of liquid nitrogen or dry-ice.
Asset 2