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4F30.70 - Rubber Band Engine
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Code Number: 4F30.70
Demo Title: Rubber Band Engine
Condition: Excellent
Principle: Expansion/Contraction
Area of Study: Thermodynamics
Equipment:
Rubber Band Engine Demo Unit., Coil Heater or Infrared Lamp, Variac, Rubber Bands.
Procedure:
Put new rubber bands on the engine. The shorter the rubber bands used the faster the engine rotation. Balance the wheel using the Tygon tube balancing weights. Place the coil heater next to the wheel and turn it to a dull red heat. This works better than the lamp as it achieves a high temperature, hence faster rotation.
References:
- Mark I. Liff, "Another Demo of the Unusual Thermal Properties of Rubber", TPT, Vol. 48, # 7, Oct. 2010, p. 444.
- J. Jedlicka, "Solid State Solar Engine", TPT, Vol. 10, # 8, Nov. 1972, p. 475.
- J.H. Weiner. "Entropic Versus Kinetic Viewpoints in Rubber Elasticity", AJP, 55, # 8, August 1987.
- J. G. Mullen, "On Optimizing an Archibald Rubber-Band Heat Engine", AJP, Vol. 46, # 11, Nov. 1978, p. 1107.
- J. G. Mullen, George W. Look, John Konkel, "Thermodynamics of a Simple Rubber-Band Heat Engine", AJP, Vol. 43, # 4, Apr. 1975, p. 349.
- H- 340: "Rubber Band - Stretch & Engine", DICK and RAE Physics Demo Notebook.
- "Revolving Shaft Without Power", The Boy Scientist, p. 223.
- C. L. Stong, "Some Delightful Engines Driven By the Heating of Rubber Bands", The Amateur Scientist, April, 1971.
- C. L. Strong, "The Amateur Scientist", Scientific American, Vol. 224, # 4, Apr. 1971, p. 118.
- Jearl Walker, "4.86, Rubber-Band Thermodynamics", The Flying Circus of Physics Ed. 2, p. 215.
- Jearl Walker, 3.13, "Heating a Rubber Band", The Flying Circus of Physics with Answers.
- "The Laws of Thermodynamics", The Feynman Lectures on Physics, 1963 Edition, Vol. 1, # 44-1.