Product Summary
The Heat Engine and Gas Law Apparatus enables students to perform quantitative Ideal Gas Law experiments, while exploring a functional heat engine. A Rotary Motion Sensor and Pressure Sensor can be added to graph heat engine cycles, determine actual efficiency, and more!
Features
- Air chamber can be immersed in hot or cold water
- Two ports for connecting the air chamber tubing or a Low Pressure Sensor
- Ultra-low friction graphite piston
- Millimeter scale measures piston displacement
- Locking screw secures piston for fixed volumes
- Precision-bore Pyrex cylinder with protective plastic shield
- Two port shut-off valves
- Rod clamp for mounting to rods or stands
Applications
- Pascal’s Principle
- Heat Engine Cycles
- Charles’ Law Experiment
- Combined Gas Law Experiment (Gay-Lussac’s)
- The Mass Lifting Heat Engine Experiment
- Add a mass to the platform for work experiments
How It Works
Heat Engine Cycle:
- When the air chamber is moved from the cold water bath to the hot bath, the piston rises, lifting the 200 g mass to demonstrate work. The mass is removed, and the air chamber is returned to the cold bath, closing the isobaric/isothermal cycle.
- The heat engine cycle is plotted in real time using a Pressure vs. Volume graph.
- Pressure in the cylinder is measured by a pressure sensor. Volume is measured by tracking the piston's position with a rotary motion or motion sensor. Temperatures of the hot and cold baths are recorded using temperature sensors.
- Students compare the area inside the P-V cycle to the actual work done while lifting the weight to determine how the efficiency of their heat engine compares to the theoretical maximum.
What's Included
- 1x Heat Engine
- 1x Air Chamber
- 1x Rubber Stopper with hole
- 1x Tubing with Quick-Connect Fittings
- 1x Shut-Off Valve
- 1x 200 g Mass
Product Specifications
| Piston diameter | 32.5 mm |
| Maximum piston displacement | ≈10 cm |
Data Collection Software
This product requires PASCO software for data collection and analysis. We recommend the following option(s). For more information on which is right for your classroom, see our Software Comparison: SPARKvue vs. Capstone »
Interface Required
This product requires a PASCO Interface to connect to your computer or device. We recommend the following option(s). For a breakdown of features, capabilities, and additional options, see our Interface Comparison Guide »
Experiment Library
Perform the following experiments and more with the Heat Engine and Gas Law Apparatus.
Visit PASCO's Experiment Library to view more activities.
College / Physics
A cylinder is filled with air and a Pressure Sensor is attached. The piston is plucked by hand and allowed to oscillate. The oscillating pressure is recorded as a function of time and the period is determined. The ratio of specific...
