Humboldt H-9340 Ball & Ring Demonstration - Manual (Page 2)

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Instructions
Everyone knows that applying heat to an object increases its
temperature. But what really is going on when the temperature of
an object increases?
Temperature can actually be thought of as the amount of energy that
an object possesses. Increasing its temperature will add energy to the
object. When an object gains more energy, the molecules inside that
object generally become more excited. This can result in an object
vibrating, glowing expanding or a combination of all three.
Applying heat to most all solids will result in some sort of expansion of
that solid. The amount of expansion is determined by the amount of
heat applied, the time over which the heat is applied and the material
that is being subjected to the heat.
Different materials will expand at different rates. This rate is referred
to as the coefficient of expansion of that particular type of metal. For
example iron will expand .000012cm per centigrade for every cm of
length. Therefore iron's coefficient of expansion is .000012. But keep
in mind that the material expands in all directions. So not only does it
expand length wise but thickness wise also.
Begin by setting up your heat source on the table in a secure manner.
This heat source can be an alcohol lamp, torch, hot plate, etc. Hold
the ball and rod by the handle only. As you place the ball into the heat
source, the rod can become very hot.
Hold the ring unit by the handle, in one hand, and hold the ball unit by
the handle in the other hand. Without forcing it, slide the ball through
the ring's opening. The ball and ring set is precision made so scratching
either the ball or the inside of the ring can prevent the ball from passing
through the ring smoothly.
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