insulators

[bmp69]

we're doing a project to see what type of material is the best insulator. We would like to know what type of energy would be the best to try and stop with insulators. Our project is do on january 5

[deleted-71295]

we're doing a project to see what type of material is the best insulator. We would like to know what type of energy would be the best to try and stop with insulators. Our project is do on january 5

One common type of material that is both a good heat insulator and a good electrical insulator is glass or ceramics. For example, a Corningware or similar cooking utensil doesn't conduct the cooking heat far away. You could try stopping either electrical (with batteries) or heat energy. In either case, you need to be careful not to be burnt or shocked.

[deleted-71588]

For electrical energy, air is usually involved as an insulator material even when the primary insulator is something else, there is ususally an air path around the other material that can break down. For heat energy, air trapped in various foam, fiberglass, wool, goose down, celulose, and other materials is also ususally involved.

The electrical equipment required to safely test electrical insulation properties is rare, expensive, and dangerous because so many modern materials have excellent electrical insulation properties.

Investigating thermal insulation requires a lot less equipment and can be much safer. A simple heat lamp and a thermometer is all you need to do a lot of experiments. If you are interested in thermal insulation, you need to do some research on the three major ways heat is transferred (radiation, convection, and conduction) so you can design your experiments to measure the effectiveness of materials for the transfer methods of interest.

[ScienceExpert123]

dear bmp69,

I agree with craig in that thermal insulation testing is the safest way to test insulation. I know that air is the best insulator for heat. For example, there is an indoor ski complex in dubai, which is a city, in a desert, in africa. The ski complex, which is covered from snow, is insulated from the desert heat by making a space for air between the roof of the building and the ceiling of the complex. Here is a link about thermal insulation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_insulation. Also, be safe when doing experiments with heat. You should wear protection from the heat, such as thermal gloves (ex. oven mits).

good luck,
scienceexpert123

[deleted-71712]

Hi bmp69,

Just a quick addition: vacuum is actually an even better insulator than air. Heat is just kinetic energy (energy of motion) of atoms or molecules, but if there are no particles there, it can't be conducted directly. However, there is still radiation -- that is, the heat can be emitted as photons, which can then be absorbed by another object, even across a vacuum. (This is why you can feel the sun on your skin!)

Here are a few wikipedia articles as a starting point:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermal_insulation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vacuum_flask

But, before we get too far ahead of ourselves, let us know how this sounds to you and what ideas you have so far?

Amanda

[deleted-19044]

i'm trying to build a container that insulates and aluminum can of hot water.. any idea's?

[tzforbes]

Hi Jen40j,

One idea I had was to surround your aluminum can with an insulator and then put it inside a coffee can. You can try different types of insulators and measure the temperature of the hot water to see which one works the best.

Tori

[deleted-71588]

i'm trying to build a container that insulates and aluminum can of hot water.. any idea's?
i'm trying to build a container that insulates and aluminum can of hot water.. any idea's?

Have you done any reading on heat transfer by "conduction", "convection", and "radiation"?

Assuming your can of hot water is not pressurized, then its temperature will be less than 100 degrees C (212 degrees F) so thermal transfer by "radiation" will be so much smaller than "conduction" and "convection" that they need priority.

When water evaporates, the heat of vaporization is lost. This means that you want to seal the can so that evaporation losses do not occur.

To minimize "convection" losses, you want to prevent fluids (air/gases and liquids/water) from being able to move around the outside of the can and then come in contact with anything colder. This means you probably want to use some nested "vapor barriers" or "sealed" containers.

To minimize "conduction" losses, you want to use materials with low thermal conductivity (thermal insulators) and you probably want to minimize the contact surface area. Because the can has a given surface area, something is going to be in contact with all of it; however, you can determine what materials come in contact with the can and how much of each comes in contact. Air/gases that can't move are great insulators so things like closed cell foam insulation tend to be good choices. Some of these materials form their own vapor barrier. Light weight materials also have a lower thermal mass than heavier materials.

I suspect that you are going to want to be able to measure the temperature of your can of hot water so you are going to have to find some what of doing that without significantly compromizing your thermal insulation design.

Hope this information gives you some ideas.