A Differential Thermal Analysis Apparatus for Exploring the Glass Transition
written by
William R. Heffner
Glass is among the most common materials in our everyday lives. And yet the science behind this interesting, complex and ubiquitous material is seldom considered in the undergraduate science curriculum. The glass transition (Tg) is both a fundamental and defining concept in understanding the glassy state. To facilitate the experimental exploration of this important topic we have developed a simple home-built apparatus for measuring the Tg and the associated relaxation phenomena. The simple differential thermal analysis (DTA) apparatus requires only basic mechanical and electronic construction skills yet provides excellent resolution of the Tg for the low temperature sugar glasses examined. We also demonstrate the strong effect of thermal history on Tg, including both the effect of cooling rate and aging. This apparatus provides an interesting and intuitive path to the student's exploration and understanding of the glassy state and provides a resource for deeper, independent and open-ended study of the relaxation phenomena, especially appropriate for an advanced undergraduate laboratory.
2015 Conference on Laboratory Instruction Beyond the First Year of College
Part of the BFY Conference series
College Park, MD: July 22-24, 2015
Pages 36-39
This material is released under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license.
Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the published article's author(s), title, proceedings citation, and DOI.
<a href="https://advlabs.aapt.org/items/detail.cfm?ID=13801">Heffner, William. "A Differential Thermal Analysis Apparatus for Exploring the Glass Transition." Paper presented at the 2015 Conference on Laboratory Instruction Beyond the First Year of College, College Park, MD, July 22-24, 2015.</a>
W. Heffner, , presented at the 2015 Conference on Laboratory Instruction Beyond the First Year of College, College Park, MD, 2015, WWW Document, (https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=13801&DocID=4221).
W. Heffner, A Differential Thermal Analysis Apparatus for Exploring the Glass Transition, presented at the 2015 Conference on Laboratory Instruction Beyond the First Year of College, College Park, MD, 2015, <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=13801&DocID=4221>.
Heffner, W. (2015, July 22-24). A Differential Thermal Analysis Apparatus for Exploring the Glass Transition. Paper presented at 2015 Conference on Laboratory Instruction Beyond the First Year of College, College Park, MD. Retrieved December 12, 2024, from https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=13801&DocID=4221
Heffner, William. "A Differential Thermal Analysis Apparatus for Exploring the Glass Transition." Paper presented at the 2015 Conference on Laboratory Instruction Beyond the First Year of College, College Park, MD, July 22-24, 2015. https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=13801&DocID=4221 (accessed 12 December 2024).
Heffner, William. "A Differential Thermal Analysis Apparatus for Exploring the Glass Transition." 2015 Conference on Laboratory Instruction Beyond the First Year of College. College Park, MD: 2015. 36-39 of BFY Conference. 12 Dec. 2024 <https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=13801&DocID=4221>.
@inproceedings{
Author = "William Heffner",
Title = {A Differential Thermal Analysis Apparatus for Exploring the Glass Transition},
BookTitle = {2015 Conference on Laboratory Instruction Beyond the First Year of College},
Pages = {36-39},
Address = {College Park, MD},
Series = {BFY Conference},
Month = {July 22-24},
Year = {2015}
}
%A William Heffner %T A Differential Thermal Analysis Apparatus for Exploring the Glass Transition %S BFY Conference %D July 22-24 2015 %P 36-39 %C College Park, MD %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=13801&DocID=4221 %O 2015 Conference on Laboratory Instruction Beyond the First Year of College %O July 22-24 %O application/pdf
%0 Conference Proceedings %A Heffner, William %D July 22-24 2015 %T A Differential Thermal Analysis Apparatus for Exploring the Glass Transition %B 2015 Conference on Laboratory Instruction Beyond the First Year of College %C College Park, MD %P 36-39 %S BFY Conference %8 July 22-24 %U https://www.compadre.org/Repository/document/ServeFile.cfm?ID=13801&DocID=4221
Disclaimer: ComPADRE offers citation styles as a guide only. We cannot offer interpretations about citations as this is an automated procedure. Please refer to the style manuals in the Citation Source Information area for clarifications.