General Science Part 2

Water has the highest specific heat of any known substance except hydrogen; that is, it requires more heat to raise the temperature of water a definite number of degrees than it does to raise the temperature of an equal amount of any other substance the same number of degrees. Practically this same thing can be stated in another way: Water in cooling gives out more heat than any other substance in cooling through the same number of degrees. For this reason water is used in foot warmers and in hot-water bags. If a copper lid were used as a foot warmer, it would give the feet only .095 as much heat as an equal weight of water; a lead weight only .031 as much heat as water.

Flatirons are made of iron because of the relatively high specific heat of iron. The flatiron heats slowly and cools slowly, and, because of its high specific heat, not only supplies the laundress with considerable heat, but eliminates for her the frequent changing of the flatiron.

18. Water and Weather. About four times as much heat is required to heat a given quant.i.ty of water one degree as to heat an equal quant.i.ty of earth. In summer, when the rocks and the sand along the sh.o.r.e are burning hot, the ocean and lakes are pleasantly cool, although the amount of heat present in the water is as great as that present in the earth. In winter, long after the rocks and sand have given out their heat and have become cold, the water continues to give out the vast store of heat acc.u.mulated during the summer. This explains why lands situated on or near large bodies of water usually have less variation in temperature than inland regions. In the summer the water cools the region; in the winter, on the contrary, the water heats the region, and hence extremes of temperature are practically unknown.

19. Sources of Heat. Most of the heat which we enjoy and use we owe to the sun. The wood which blazes on the hearth, the coal which glows in the furnace, and the oil which burns in the stove owe their existence to the sun.

Without the warmth of the sun seeds could not sprout and develop into the mighty trees which yield firewood. Even coal, which lies buried thousands of feet below the earth's surface, owes its existence in part to the sun. Coal is simply buried vegetation,--vegetation which sprouted and grew under the influence of the sun's warm rays. Ages ago trees and bushes grew "thick and fast," and the ground was always covered with a deep layer of decaying vegetable matter. In time some of this vast supply sank into the moist soil and became covered with mud. Then rock formed, and the rock pressed down upon the sunken vegetation. The constant pressure, the moisture in the ground, and heat affected the underground vegetable ma.s.s, and slowly changed it into coal.

The buried forest and thickets were not all changed into coal. Some were changed into oil and gas. Decaying animal matter was often mixed with the vegetable ma.s.s. When the mingled animal and vegetable matter sank into moist earth and came under the influence of pressure, it was slowly changed into oil and gas.

The heat of our bodies comes from the foods which we eat. Fruits, grain, etc., could not grow without the warmth and the light of the sun. The animals which supply our meats likewise depend upon the sun for light and warmth.

The sun, therefore, is the great source of heat; whether it is the heat which comes directly from the sun and warms the atmosphere, or the heat which comes from burning coal, wood, and oil.

CHAPTER III

OTHER FACTS ABOUT HEAT

20. Boiling. _Heat absorbed in Boiling_. If a kettle of water is placed above a flame, the temperature of the water gradually increases, and soon small bubbles form at the bottom of the kettle and begin to rise through the water. At first the bubbles do not get far in their ascent, but disappear before they reach the surface; later, as the water gets hotter and hotter, the bubbles become larger and more numerous, rise higher and higher, and finally reach the surface and pa.s.s from the water into the air; steam comes from the vessel, and the water is said to _boil_. The temperature at which a liquid boils is called the boiling point.

While the water is heating, the temperature steadily rises, but as soon as the water begins to boil the thermometer reading becomes stationary and does not change, no matter how hard the water boils and in spite of the fact that heat from the flame is constantly pa.s.sing into the water.

If the flame is removed from the boiling water for but a second, the boiling ceases; if the flame is replaced, the boiling begins again immediately. Unless heat is constantly supplied, water at the boiling point cannot be transformed into steam.

_The number of calories which must be supplied to 1 gram of water at the boiling point in order to change it into steam at the same temperature is called the heat of vaporization_; it is the heat necessary to change 1 gram of water at the boiling point into steam of the same temperature.

21. The Amount of Heat Absorbed. The amount of heat which must be constantly supplied to water at the boiling point in order to change it into steam is far greater than we realize. If we put a beaker of ice water (water at 0 C.) over a steady flame, and note (1) the time which elapses before the water begins to boil, and (2) the time which elapses before the boiling water completely boils away, we shall see that it takes about 5-1/4 times as long to change water into steam as it does to change its temperature from 0 C. to 100 C. Since, with a steady flame, it takes 5-1/4 times as long to change water into steam as it does to change its temperature from 0 C. to the boiling point, we conclude that it takes 5-1/4 times as much heat to convert water at the boiling point into steam as it does to raise it from the temperature of ice water to that of boiling water.

The amount of heat necessary to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water 1 C. is equal to 1 calorie, and the amount necessary to raise the temperature 100 C. is equal to 100 calories; hence the amount of heat necessary to convert 1 gram of water at the boiling point into steam at that same temperature is equal to approximately 525 calories.

Very careful experiments show the exact heat of vaporization to be 536.1 calories. (See Laboratory Manual.)

22. General Truths. Statements similar to the above hold for other liquids and for solutions. If milk is placed upon a stove, the temperature rises steadily until the boiling point is reached; further heating produces, not a change in temperature, but a change of the water of the milk into steam. As soon as the milk, or any other liquid food, comes to a boil, the gas flame should be lowered until only an occasional bubble forms, because so long as any bubbles form the temperature is that of the boiling point, and further heat merely results in waste of fuel.

We find by experiment that every liquid has its own specific boiling point; for example, alcohol boils at 78 C. and brine at 103 C. Both specific heat and the heat of vaporization vary with the liquid used.

23. Condensation. If one holds a cold lid in the steam of boiling water, drops of water gather on the lid; the steam is cooled by contact with the cold lid and _condenses_ into water. Bottles of water brought from a cold cellar into a warm room become covered with a mist of fine drops of water, because the moisture in the air, chilled by contact with the cold bottles, immediately condenses into drops of water. Gla.s.ses filled with ice water show a similar mist.

In Section 21, we saw that 536 calories are required to change 1 gram of water into steam; if, now, the steam in turn condenses into water, it is natural to expect a release of the heat used in transforming water into steam. Experiment shows not only that vapor gives out heat during condensation, but that the amount of heat thus set free is exactly equal to the amount absorbed during vaporization. (See Laboratory Manual.)

We learn that the heat of vaporization is the same whether it is considered as the heat absorbed by 1 gram of water in its change to steam, or as the heat given out by 1 gram of steam during its condensation into water.

24. Practical Application. We understand now the value of steam as a heating agent. Water is heated in a boiler in the cellar, and the steam pa.s.ses through pipes which run to the various rooms; there the steam condenses into water in the radiators, each gram of steam setting free 536 calories of heat. When we consider the size of the radiators and the large number of grams of steam which they contain, and consider further that each gram in condensing sets free 536 calories, we understand the ease with which buildings are heated by steam.

Most of us have at times profited by the heat of condensation. In cold weather, when there is a roaring fire in the range, the water frequently becomes so hot that it "steams" out of open faucets. If, at such times, the hot water is turned on in a small cold bathroom, and is allowed to run until the tub is well filled, vapor condenses on windows, mirrors, and walls, and the cold room becomes perceptibly warmer. The heat given out by the condensing steam pa.s.ses into the surrounding air and warms the room.

There is, however, another reason for the rise in temperature. If a large pail of hot soup is placed in a larger pail of cold water, the soup will gradually cool and the cold water will gradually become warmer. A red-hot iron placed on a stand gradually cools, but warms the stand. A hot body loses heat so long as a cooler body is near it; the cold object is heated at the expense of the warmer object, and one loses heat and the other gains heat until the temperature of both is the same. Now the hot water in the tub gradually loses heat and the cold air of the room gradually gains heat by convection, but the amount given the room by convection is relatively small compared with the large amount set free by the condensing steam.

25. Distillation. If impure, muddy water is boiled, drops of water will collect on a cold plate held in the path of the steam, but the drops will be clear and pure. When impure water is boiled, the steam from it does not contain any of the impurities because these are left behind in the vessel. If all the water were allowed to boil away, a layer of mud or of other impurities would be found at the bottom of the vessel. Because of this fact, it is possible to purify water in a very simple way. Place over a fire a large kettle closed except for a spout which is long enough to reach across the stove and dip into a bottle. As the liquid boils, steam escapes through the spout, and on reaching the cold bottle condenses and drops into the bottle as pure water. The impurities remain behind in the kettle. Water freed from impurities in this way is called _distilled water_, and the process is called _distillation_ (Fig. 19). By this method, the salt water of the ocean may be separated into pure drinking water and salt, and many of the large ocean liners distill from the briny deep all the drinking water used on their ocean voyages.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 19.--In order that the steam which pa.s.ses through the coiled tube may be quickly cooled and condensed, cold water is made to circulate around the coil. The condensed steam escapes at _w_.]

Commercially, distillation is a very important process. Turpentine, for example, is made by distilling the sap of pine trees. Incisions are cut in the bark of the long-leaf pine trees, and these serve as channels for the escape of crude resin. This crude liquid is collected in barrels and taken to a distillery, where it is distilled into turpentine and rosin. The turpentine is the product which pa.s.ses off as vapor, and the rosin is the ma.s.s left in the boiler after the distillation of the turpentine.

26. Evaporation. If a stopper is left off a cologne bottle, the contents of the bottle will slowly evaporate; if a dish of water is placed out of doors on a hot day, evaporation occurs very rapidly. The liquids which have disappeared from the bottle and the dish have pa.s.sed into the surrounding air in the form of vapor. In Section 20, we saw that water could not pa.s.s into vapor without the addition of heat; now the heat necessary for the evaporation of the cologne and water was taken from the air, leaving it slightly cooler. If wet hands are not dried with a towel, but are left to dry by evaporation, heat is taken from the hand in the process, leaving a sensation of coolness. Damp clothing should never be worn, because the moisture in it tends to evaporate at the expense of the bodily heat, and this undue loss of heat from the body produces chills. After a bath the body should be well rubbed, otherwise evaporation occurs at the expense of heat which the body cannot ordinarily afford to lose.

Evaporation is a slow process occurring at all times; it is hastened during the summer, because of the large amount of heat present in the atmosphere. Many large cities make use of the cooling effect of evaporation to lower the temperature of the air in summer; streets are sprinkled not only to lay the dust, but in order that the surrounding air may be cooled by the evaporation of the water.

Some thrifty housewives economize by utilizing the cooling effects of evaporation. b.u.t.ter, cheese, and other foods sensitive to heat are placed in porous vessels wrapped in wet cloths. Rapid evaporation of the water from the wet cloths keeps the contents of the jars cool, and that without expense other than the muscular energy needed for wetting the cloths frequently.

27. Rain, Snow, Frost, Dew. The heat of the sun causes constant evaporation of the waters of oceans, rivers, streams, and marshes, and the water vapor set free by evaporation pa.s.ses into the air, which becomes charged with vapor or is said to be humid. Constant, unceasing evaporation of our lakes, streams, and pools would mean a steady decrease in the supply of water available for daily use, if the escaped water were all retained by the atmosphere and lost to the earth. But although the escaped vapor mingles with the atmosphere, hovering near the earth's surface, or rising far above the level of the mountains, it does not remain there permanently. When this vapor meets a cold wind or is chilled in any way, condensation takes place, and a ma.s.s of tiny drops of water or of small particles of snow is formed. When these drops or particles become large enough, they fall to the earth as rain or snow, and in this way the earth is compensated for the great loss of moisture due to evaporation. Fog is formed when vapor condenses near the surface of the earth, and when the drops are so small that they do not fall but hover in the air, the fog is said "not to lift" or "not to clear."

If ice water is poured into a gla.s.s, a mist will form on the outside of the gla.s.s. This is because the water vapor in the air becomes chilled by contact with the gla.s.s and condenses. Often leaves and gra.s.s and sidewalks are so cold that the water vapor in the atmosphere condenses on them, and we say a heavy dew has formed. If the temperature of the air falls to the freezing point while the dew is forming, the vapor is frozen and frost is seen instead of dew.

The daily evaporation of moisture into the atmosphere keeps the atmosphere more or less full of water vapor; but the atmosphere can hold only a definite amount of vapor at a given temperature, and as soon as it contains the maximum amount for that temperature, further evaporation ceases. If clothes are hung out on a damp, murky day they do not dry, because the air contains all the moisture it can hold, and the moisture in the clothes has no chance to evaporate. When the air contains all the moisture it can hold, it is said to be saturated, and if a slight fall in temperature occurs when the air is saturated, condensation immediately begins in the form of rain, snow, or fog. If, however, the air is not saturated, a fall in temperature may occur without producing precipitation. The temperature at which air is saturated and condensation begins is called the _dew point_.

28. How Chills are Caused. The discomfort we feel in an overcrowded room is partly due to an excess of moisture in the air, resulting from the breathing and perspiration of many persons. The air soon becomes saturated with vapor and cannot take away the perspiration from our bodies, and our clothing becomes moist and our skin tender. When we leave the crowded "tea" or lecture and pa.s.s into the colder, drier, outside air, clothes and skin give up their load of moisture through sudden evaporation. But evaporation requires heat, and this heat is taken from our bodies, and a chill results.

Proper ventilation would eliminate much of the physical danger of social events; fresh, dry air should be constantly admitted to crowded rooms in order to replace the air saturated by the breath and perspiration of the occupants.

29. Weather Forecasts. When the air is near the saturation point, the weather is oppressive and is said to be very humid. For comfort and health, the air should be about two thirds saturated. The presence of some water vapor in the air is absolutely necessary to animal and plant life. In desert regions where vapor is scarce the air is so dry that throat trouble accompanied by disagreeable tickling is prevalent; fallen leaves become so dry that they crumble to dust; plants lose their freshness and beauty.

The likelihood of rain or frost is often determined by temperature and humidity. If the air is near saturation and the temperature is falling, it is safe to predict bad weather, because the fall of temperature will probably cause rapid condensation, and hence rain.

If, however, the air is not near the saturation point, a fall in temperature will not necessarily produce bad weather.

The measurement of humidity is of far wider importance than the mere forecasting of local weather conditions. The close relation between humidity and health has led many inst.i.tutions, such as hospitals, schools, and factories, to regulate the humidity of the atmosphere as carefully as they do the temperature. Too great humidity is enervating, and not conducive to either mental or physical exertion; on the other hand, too dry air is equally harmful. In summer the humidity conditions cannot be well regulated, but in winter, when houses are artificially heated, the humidity of a room can be increased by placing pans of water near the registers or on radiators.

30. Heat Needed to Melt Substances. If a spoon is placed in a vessel of hot water for a few seconds and then removed, it will be warmer than before it was placed in the hot water. If a lump of melting ice is placed in the vessel of hot water and then removed, the ice will not be warmer than before, but there will be less of it. The heat of the water has been used in melting the ice, not in changing its temperature.

If, on a bitter cold day, a pail of snow is brought into a warm room and a thermometer is placed in the snow, the temperature rises gradually until 32 F. is reached, when it becomes stationary, and the snow begins to melt. If the pail is put on the fire, the temperature still remains 32F., but the snow melts more rapidly. As soon as all the snow is completely melted, however, the temperature begins to rise and rises steadily until the water boils, when it again becomes stationary and remains so during the pa.s.sage of water into vapor.

We see that heat must be supplied to ice at 0 C. or 32 F. in order to change it into water, and further, that the temperature of the mixture does not rise so long as any ice is present, no matter how much heat is supplied. The amount of heat necessary to melt 1 gram of ice is easily calculated. (See Laboratory Manual.)

Heat must be supplied to ice to melt it. On the other hand, water, in freezing, loses heat, and the amount of heat lost by freezing water is exactly equal to the amount of heat absorbed by melting ice.

The number of units of heat required to melt a unit ma.s.s of ice is called the _heat of fusion_ of water.

31. Climate. Water, in freezing, loses heat, even though its temperature remains at 0 C. Because water loses heat when it freezes, the presence of large streams of water greatly influences the climate of a region. In winter the heat from the freezing water keeps the temperature of the surrounding higher than it would naturally be, and consequently the cold weather is less severe. In summer water evaporates, heat is taken from the air, and consequently the warm weather is less intense.

32. Molding of Gla.s.s and Forging of Iron. The fire which is hot enough to melt a lump of ice may not be hot enough to melt an iron poker; on the other hand, it may be sufficiently hot to melt a tin spoon. Different substances melt, or liquefy, at different temperatures; for example, ice melts at 0 C., and tin at 233 C., while iron requires the relatively high temperature of 1200 C. Most substances have a definite melting or freezing point which never changes so long as the surrounding conditions remain the same.

But while most substances have a definite melting point, some substances do not. If a gla.s.s rod is held in a Bunsen burner, it will gradually grow softer and softer, and finally a drop of molten gla.s.s will fall from the end of the rod into the fire. The gla.s.s did not suddenly become a liquid at a definite temperature; instead it softened gradually, and then melted. While gla.s.s is in the soft, yielding, pliable state, it is molded into dishes, bottles, and other useful objects, such as lamp shades, globes, etc. (Fig. 20). If gla.s.s melted at a definite temperature, it could not be molded in this way.

Iron acts in a similar manner, and because of this property the blacksmith can shape his horseshoes, and the workman can make his engines and other articles of daily service to man.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 20.--Molten gla.s.s being rolled into a form suitable for window panes.]