Engineering: The challenge of temperature

Learning outcomes

After studying this course, you should be able to:

  • relate the temperature of a solid to the mean kinetic energy of its atoms
  • use models for thermally induced effects that involve linear, exponential and step changes
  • use exponentials, logarithms and graphical methods to interpret data from a thermally activated process in terms of Arrhenius's law
  • identify the changes of phase taking place in a variety of critical phenomena
  • provide examples of gradual, accelerating and sudden changes in the properties of materials that accompany changes in temperature.