Forces during the expansion of solid bodies

Principle

The length of metal tubes or rods alters when heating them up or cooling them down. If a hot tube is firmly fixed in place then great forces will act upon its holders when cooling down.
In this experiment one side of the holder consists of a rigid pin made of cast iron which is destroyed by this force when cooling down the tube.

Benefits

• Simple and clear setup
• Achievement of an elemental learning objective with little effort