Question

When a mercury thermometer is heated the mercury expands and rises in the thin tube of glass. What does this indicate about the relative rates of expansion for mercury and glass ? What would happen if their expansion rates were the same?

Answer 1

Answer:

Solution 8E Rising of mercury in the glass tube means that it has a higher expansion rate than glass for a given temperature. If they have the same expansion rates, mercury would not rise in the glass tube. This is because the glass would also expand and hence this expansion would stop the rising of the mercury level.