Real World Physics Situation Requires Theory and Insight

[stantz]

Hello.

I hope I am posting in the right section, apologies if I am not.

I need help with a situation that has arisen for a colleague of mine, he asked me for help but sadly I can't give him an answer based on fact and logic. Can you please help?

In his kitchen he has a glass panel which is about 2 meters wide, by 1 meter high.

This panel has a hole in the centre where a plug socket is located. His kitchen stove is under the panel to the left. The stove is electric, and has malfunctioned and when the main oven switch is set to on it automatically sets the back hob to the highest heat.

The glass has cracked at the plug socket, to the right of the socket. The crack was not witnessed, and occurred during the night when the oven was off but most likely used that same night.

Could the heat cause the crack?

He was told by an engineer (electrical) who came to fix the oven that the malfunction could not cause the crack as it was not directly over the hob, but the glass has an obvious weak point in the centre. Could excess heat and then cooling cause this to happen away from the left hand side of the glass where the hob is located, making the crack appear next to the week point of the hole?

It will be great to hear your thoughts and feedback regarding this, I look forward to it.

Regards,

Ray.

PS> The glass is frosted, about 1cm thick and mounted against the wall.

 

[Mapes]

It is true that temperature changes cause materials to expand and contract, and can thus causes internal stresses if an object is constrained. It's also true that stress is concentrated at holes, corners, and other areas of high curvature, and it's in these areas that failure often initiates. So I think your hypothesis is reasonable. You can read more about these topics in mechanics of materials textbooks (like Dowling, Courtney, or Beer and Johnston).

 

[oswaler]

Hello Ray,

Thank you for reaching out to me for help with this situation. Based on the information provided, it is possible that the excess heat and cooling could have caused the crack in the glass panel. This is because glass is a material that expands when heated and contracts when cooled, and sudden changes in temperature can cause stress on the material, leading to cracks. Additionally, the location of the crack near the weak point of the hole could also indicate that the heat from the malfunctioning stove may have contributed to the crack.

However, it is also important to consider other factors such as the quality and thickness of the glass, as well as any external forces that may have caused the crack. Without further information or a thorough examination of the glass panel, it is difficult to determine the exact cause of the crack.

In situations like this, it is important to use both theory and insight to come to a conclusion. Based on the theory of thermal expansion and contraction, it is possible that the heat from the stove could have caused the crack. However, it is also important to consider other factors and use your insight as a scientist to analyze the situation and come to a logical explanation.

I hope this helps and I wish your colleague the best of luck in resolving this issue.

Best regards,