Drinking Bird - Physical and Chemical Principles

Physical and Chemical Principles

The drinking bird is an interesting exhibition of several physical laws and is therefore a staple of basic chemistry and physics education. These include:

  • The chemical compound dichloromethane with a low boiling point of 39.6 °C (103.28 °F), gives the heat engine the ability to extract motion from low temperatures. The drinking bird is a heat engine that works at room temperature.
  • The combined gas law, which establishes a proportional relationship between temperature and pressure exerted by a gas in a constant volume.
  • The ideal gas law, which establishes a proportional relationship between number of gas particles and pressure in a constant volume.
  • The Maxwell–Boltzmann distribution, which establishes that molecules in a given space at a given temperature vary in energy level, and therefore can exist in multiple phases (solid/liquid/gas) at a single temperature.
  • Heat of vaporization (or condensation), which establishes that substances absorb (or give off) heat when changing state at a constant temperature.
  • Torque and center of mass.
  • Capillary action of the wicking felt.
  • Wet-bulb temperature: The temperature difference between the head and body depends on the relative humidity of the air.

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