Question

Give one example where expansion on heating is put to good use. Explain the working with the help of a labelled diagram.

Answer 1

Automatic fire alarm is an example of expansion on heating, which is put to good use. The fire alarm works on the principle that different solids expand differently when heated. An automatic fire alarm consists of a bimetallic strip which have two different metals strips, iron and brass, bolted together firmly. Brass expands more than iron on heating. Therefore, when fire will reach this bimetallic strip, the brass will expand more thereby bending it towards the iron strip. Due to this bending of the strip, the circuit for the electric bell is completed and it starts ringing as the fire alarm. Once the strip cools down, it will return to its original shape, i.e., straighten up to break the circuit and stop the alarm.