Thermodynamics Heat Engine

Heat Engine/Gas Law Apparatus

TD-8572 Mass Platform
A Near-Frictionless Piston and Cylinder System Add a mass to do
work experiments.
A Demonstration or Computer Data Collection
A Heat Engine and Gas Law Experiments Locking Screw
Precision-bore Pyrex Secures piston in
An affordable, general-purpose apparatus for quantitative any position for fixed
Cylinder Inside a
experiments involving the Ideal Gas Law and for volume.
Protective Plastic Shield
investigations of a working heat engine.
Features a nearly friction-free piston/cylinder system.
The 32.5 mm diameter graphite piston fits snugly into Millimeter Scale
a precision-ground Pyrex cylinder so that the system Rod Clamp Mount Measures piston
produces almost friction-free motion of 10 cm and Mount engine on a rod stand. displacement.
minimal leakage.

Specifications
Piston diameter: 32.5 mm
Maximum piston displacement: 10 cm Ultra-Low-Friction
Graphite Piston

Quick-Connect
Ports
Two ports connect
Air Chamber to the air chamber
Immerse in hot or cold water. tubing or to a Low
All necessary tubing is included. Pressure Sensor.
Two Port Shut-off Valves
The PASCO Capstone graph shows an
isobaric/isothermal heat engine cycle
operating between a cold water bath at
1.5C and a hot water bath at 41.8C.
 easure the Actual Efficiency of a Real Heat Engine,
M
and Bring the Concept of P-V Diagrams to Life
A PASCO Heat Engine: Extracts heat from a large hot-water reservoir
and does work to lift a weight.
A Real-time Graph: The heat engine cycle is traced on a Pressure vs. Volume
graph as the engine goes through each part of its cycle, closing the cycle as
waste heat is exhausted to the ice-water reservoir.
A Heat
 Engine Efficiency: Students compare the area inside the P-V cycle to
Cold Bath the actual work done lifting the weight, and see how the efficiency of this heat
engine compares to the theoretical maximum.

When the air chamber is moved from the cold water bath to
Hot Bath the hot bath, the piston moves up and lifts the 200 g mass,
doing work. The mass is removed, and then the air chamber is
returned to the cold bath, creating an isobaric/isothermal cycle.

198 www.pasco.com
 Thermodynamics Heat Engine
Small Piston Heat Engine
Heat Engine Accessory TD-8592
TD-8581
A S mall Piston (8.1 mm dia.) Is More Sensitive to
The Heat Engine Accessory includes
Pressure and Temperature Changes
a set of parts for those items in the
Heat Engine/Gas Law Apparatus A Connect to Heat Engine to Study Pascals Principle
most likely to need replacement
after extensive use. The Small Piston Heat Engine features a piston with one-quarter
the surface area of the original Heat Engine. It includes the same
high-quality Pyrex cylinder and low-friction graphite piston. In
Includes addition, the Quick Connect ports allow the two heat engines to
Air Chamber be used with one another or with the same set of accessories.
Rubber Stoppers
(one and two hole)
Tubing with Quick Connect Fittings
Shut-off Valve and One-way Valve Pascals Principle is demonstrated by
connecting two pistons of different diameters.
Order Information More weight is required on the bigger piston to
balance the weight on the smaller piston.
Heat Engine Accessory.......................................................TD-8581 Shown with Heat Engine.

Give meaning to the abstract drawing of a heat engine cycle and

let your students see the connection to the real world.

Work
(Lifting Mass)
Cold Reservoir Hot Reservoir
(Ice water bath) (Hot water bath)

Tc Th

Q c Qh
Heat Engine
(Air filled cylinder with piston)

Typical Applications
A Investigate Pascals Principle
A Demonstrate a Real-Time Heat Engine Cycle
Includes
Heat Engine
Air Chamber Includes
Rubber Stoppers Small Piston Heat Engine
(one and two hole) Air Chamber with Rubber
Tubing with Quick Stopper
Connect Fittings Plastic Tubing with
Shut-off Valve and One-way Valve Quick-Connect Fittings

Order Information
Heat Engine/
Gas Law Apparatus............................................................................. TD-8572
Shown in use with:
850 Universal Interface.................................................. UI-5000 pp. 12-15
Dual Pressure Sensor....................................................... PS-2181 p. 42
Rotary Motion Sensor...................................................... PS-2120A p. 28
3 Liter Plastic Container Set (2)........................... ME-7559 p. 179
Small A Base. ......................................................................... ME-8976 p. 170 Order Information
60 cm Rod. ...................................................................................... ME-8977 p. 170 Small Piston Heat Engine....................................................... TD-8592

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