What substance has the highest expansion ratio?

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    Expansion Ratio
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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers on identifying the substance with the highest expansion ratio when transitioning from liquid to gas. Participants explore various substances, their expansion ratios, and the conditions under which these ratios are measured, including temperature considerations.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • One participant states that water has an expansion ratio of 1:1700 and neon has 1:1400, suggesting neon might have the highest ratio among elemental substances.
  • Another participant questions the clarity of the original question, noting that it does not specify temperature, which could exclude many substances from consideration.
  • A later reply proposes that xenon may have a higher expansion ratio than neon, though it does not assert that xenon is definitively the record holder.
  • One participant clarifies that they are comparing the volume of a substance just below its boiling point to its volume after it has completely boiled to gas.
  • Another participant argues that comparing substances with significantly different boiling points (e.g., water and iron) is problematic, as the gas volume at higher temperatures will be much larger.
  • One participant emphasizes that liquids with higher boiling points may have higher expansion ratios due to greater gas expansion with temperature.
  • There is a suggestion that knowing the purpose and constraints of the inquiry would aid in the discussion.
  • Participants are encouraged to seek additional information independently, such as building a table of expansion ratios.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on which substance has the highest expansion ratio, with no consensus reached on a definitive answer. The discussion highlights the importance of temperature and other conditions in determining expansion ratios.

Contextual Notes

Participants note that the lack of clarity regarding temperature and measurement conditions may limit the comparison of different substances. The discussion also reflects the complexity of comparing substances with varying physical properties.

samblohm
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What substance has the highest expansion ratio? (liquid:gas)
 
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Assuming ideal gas - will the volume of the substance after it was converted to gaseous form depend on the substance?

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methods
 
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I know water has an expansion ratio of 1:1700, and neon's is 1:1400 (which is the highest for elemental substances).
 
On the second thought - question is no clear. It doesn't state anything about temperature. If the idea is that it is measured at STP many substances are ruled out, even if they have (in their temperature range) much higher expansion ratio.

And neon doesn't look to me like a possible record holder (even for elemental substances at STP). For example xenon seems to be a tiny bit better (and I am not stating it is Xe that wins in this category).

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What I mean is the volume of a substance just below its boiling point (at 1 atm) compared to the volume of the substance right after it has all boiled to a gas (at 1 atm)
 
This is still not clear. You can't compare water (boils at 100 deg C) with iron (boils around 2900 deg C) even if they can be both converted to gaseous form. For obvious reasons 1 mole of gas at 2900 deg C will have much higher volume.
 
Which is why I'm not comparing their volume. I'm comparing the ratio of their liquid volume to gas volume.
 
The problem hasn't gone away - gases expand a lot more with temperature than liquids do, so liquids with higher boiling points are likely to score higher on your scale. Knowing the purpose and constraints would certainly help us a lot.

You can certainly google for whatever info you want and build a table of whatever you really want, though.
 
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