Imagine a container is removed from a hot oven and plunged into cold water. Use your answer from Question 3 to justify which material would be more likely to have better thermal shock resistance.

Question

Imagine a container is removed from a hot oven and plunged into cold water. Use your answer from Question 3 to justify which material would be more likely to have better thermal shock resistance.

Glass: α=9∗10−6C−1

Pyrex: α=4∗10−6C−1

Which material would be more likely to have better thermal shock resistance?

Glass
Pyrex

Answer 1

To determine which material would have better thermal shock resistance, we need to compare the coefficients of thermal expansion (α) for glass and Pyrex.

The coefficient of thermal expansion measures how much a material expands or contracts when its temperature changes. A higher coefficient means the material is more prone to expanding or contracting with temperature changes, while a lower coefficient indicates better resistance to thermal expansion or contraction.

In this case, the coefficient of thermal expansion for glass is α = 9×10^(-6) C^(-1), while for Pyrex, it is α = 4×10^(-6) C^(-1).

Since Pyrex has a lower coefficient of thermal expansion (α), it means it is less likely to expand or contract significantly when exposed to rapid temperature changes. Therefore, Pyrex would be more likely to have better thermal shock resistance compared to glass in this scenario.

By comparing the coefficients of thermal expansion, we can determine that Pyrex is more likely to withstand the sudden temperature change when removed from the hot oven and plunged into cold water, making it a better choice for thermal shock resistance in this case.