Patent ID: 6783368
Filing Date: 2004-08-31
Classification: G01N,G09B

Abstract:
A method for teaching heat conduction, comprising:providing an apparatus having: a heat-conducting body, at least one heater attached to one side of said heat-conducting body for conducting heat through said heat-conducting body, at least one heat exchanger attached to a side of said heat-conducting body that is opposite to the side said heater is attached to, a thermochromic liquid crystal sheet attached to a top surface of said heat-conducting body, wherein the color of the thermochromic liquid crystal sheet varies due to the transient heat conduction through said heat-conducting body, an insulating plate located above the top surface of said heat-conducting body to create a gap between said thermochromic liquid crystal sheet and said insulating plate, a plurality of thermocouples attached to a bottom surface of said heat-conducting body for measuring the transient heat conduction within said heat-conducting body, and means to record the transient heat conduction within the heat-conducting body; selecting a temperature and heat flux boundary conditions for the heat-conducting body; recording the temperatures of portions of the heat-conducting body using the plurality of thermocouples;recording the colors displayed by the thermochromic liquid crystal sheet with the means to record the transient heat conduction; and terminating the method when the temperature of the heat-conducting body is no longer changing with time.