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Radiometers

Radiometers




The world's first heat engine, originally developed in the mid-nineteenth century by Sir William Crookes.
The Radiometer is a thermodynamic demonstration device. Set it in sunlight or incandescent light and watch the vanes inside spin!
It can also be used as a light intensity measurement device - the vane spin rate is proportional to the light shining on the device.
Radiometers consist of four vanes, each has one blackened side and one silvered side.
It is encased in a clear glass bulb that has a near perfect vacuum.
How do they work? The faster molecules from the warmer side of each vane, strike the edges obliquely and impart a higher force than the colder molecules. The movement of the vane as a result of tangential forces around the edges, is away from the warmer gas and towards the cooler gas with the gas passing round the edge in the opposite direction. Therefore, the movement is due to what happens near the edges of the vanes rather than at the faces.
Try it out yourself and watch thermodynamics in action! The radiometer's four vane rotor spins continuously up to 3,000 RPM.
See below for the different variations available.

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