Demonstrations

Thermal Convection of a Liquid Demo

Code Number :	4B20.10
Disclaimer:	Reprinted by permission of Dick Berg, University of Maryland, for use on this website. The demonstrations contained and referenced herein are listed for the purposes of cataloging and describing physics demonstrations which should be conducted only under the direction of a trained instructional support professional or physicist. These demonstrations are not presented for the purpose of being conducted by persons unconnected to this Facility and/or persons not consulting with or being supervised by the recognized instructional support professional or physicist and his/her staff. The University is responsible only for those demonstrations carried out using its own equipment using established safety and scheduling policies, and bears no responsibility for those choosing to use this source material for their own purposes. All demonstrations described and contained herein are public domain, and can also be found in reference materials in libraries, bookstores, and electronic sources. Further information regarding legal liability in use of demonstrations and labs will be found on the web site Injuries in School/College Laboratories in USA. The University of Iowa Disclaimers: University of Iowa Disclaimer All Rights Reserved..
Condition :	Good
Principle :	Thermal Convection in a Fluid
Area of Study :	Heat & Fluids
Equipment :	Convection tube (glass, square-shaped), Ink or Food Coloring, Bunsen Burner, Water.
Procedure :	Fill the tube with water leaving enough room for several ml of coloring. Care is needed to see that undue strain is not put on the glass assembly when moving. The fastest convection is obtained when the burner is placed towards the corners of the apparatus. Quite a bit of coloring is needed to overcome dilution during convection. Note: Plexiglas will melt at around 300 degrees F. Be careful in your positioning of the Bunsen burner.

References

Richard J. Bohan and Guy Vandegrift, "Temperature - Driven Convection," TPT, p. 76, Vol. 41, # 2, (Feb 2003).

Albert A. Bartlett, "The Curious Case of the Well-Behaved Shower Curtain," TPT, Vol. 34, # 7, p. 444, (Oct. 1996).

Edward J. Carlone, "Convection Demonstrator," TPT, Vol. 21, # 7, p. 464, (Oct. 1983).

Hc- 2: Freier and Anderson, A Demonstration Handbook for Physics.

H-160: "Liquid in Loop - Candle in Box," DICK and RAE Physics Demo Notebook.

Tik Liem, "The Confused Bottles," Investigation to Science Inquiry, pp. 206.

Ron Hipschman, "Convection Currents," Exploratorium Cookbook III, p. 180.1 - 180.4.

"Convection Currents," Science Snackbook, p. 28.1 - 28.2.

Janice VanCleave, "Curls," 201 Awesome, Magical, Bizzare, & Incredible Experiments, p. 86.

Mail Questions and Comments to: Dale Stille