The purpose of this activity is to build an instrument that can be used to measure water temperature. Students construct a soda-bottle thermometer, which is similar to the thermometer used by GLOBE schools. Both are based on the principle that most substances expand and contract as their temperature changes. This experiment also demonstrates the principle of heat transfer. The intended outcome is that students will understand why and how a standard thermometer works.

Fundamental concepts and results for the compressible flow of gases. Topics include: appropriate conservation laws; propagation of disturbances; isentropic flows; normal shock wave relations, oblique shock waves, weak and strong shocks, and shock wave structure; compressible flows in ducts with area changes, friction, or heat addition; heat transfer to high speed flows; unsteady compressible flows, Riemann invariants, and piston and shock tube problems; steady 2D supersonic flow, Prandtl-Meyer function; and self-similar compressible flows. Emphasis on physical understanding of the phenomena and basic analytical techniques. 2.26 is a 6-unit Honors-level subject serving as the Mechanical Engineering department's sole course in compressible fluid dynamics. The prerequisites for this course are undergraduate courses in thermodynamics, fluid dynamics, and heat transfer. The goal of this course is to lay out the fundamental concepts and results for the compressible flow of gases. Topics to be covered include: appropriate conservation laws; propagation of disturbances; isentropic flows; normal shock wave relations, oblique shock waves, weak and strong shocks, and shock wave structure; compressible flows in ducts with area changes, friction, or heat addition; heat transfer to high speed flows; unsteady compressible flows, Riemann invariants, and piston and shock tube problems; steady 2D supersonic flow, Prandtl-Meyer function; and self-similar compressible flows. The emphasis will be on physical understanding of the phenomena and basic analytical techniques.

This course focuses on laws, approximations, and relations of continuum mechanics. Topics include mechanical and electromechanical transfer relations, statics and dynamics of electromechanical systems having a static equilibrium, electromechanical flows, and field coupling with thermal and molecular diffusion. See the syllabus section for a more detailed list of topics.

"This course focuses on laws, approximations and relations of continuum electromechanics. Topics include mechanical and electromechanical transfer relations, statics and dynamics of electromechanical systems having a static equilibrium, electromechanical flows, and field coupling with thermal and molecular diffusion. Also covered are electrokinetics, streaming interactions, application to materials processing, magnetohydrodynamic and electrohydrodynamic pumps and generators, ferrohydrodynamics, physiochemical systems, heat transfer, continuum feedback control, electron beam devices, and plasma dynamics. Acknowledgements The instructor would like to thank Xuancheng Shao and Anyang Hou for transcribing into LaTeX the problem set solutions and exam solutions, respectively."

For this activity, students will be given a set of materials: cardboard, a set of insulating materials (i.e. foam, newspaper, etc.), aluminum foil, and plexiglass. Students will then become engineers in building a solar oven from the given materials, keeping in mind that the oven should not only be able to collect as much of the sun's energy as possible but also to store it. Students will experiment with heat transfer through conduction by how well the oven is insulated and radiation by how well it absorbs solar radiation. Upon completion they will test the effectiveness of their designs both qualitatively and quantitatively. Qualitatively, they will attempt to actually bake something in the ovens. Quantitatively, they will take periodic temperature measurements and plot a temperature versus time graph. Afterwards, students will think like engineers and discuss the solar oven's strengths and weaknesses when compared to a conventional oven.

This course introduces finite element methods for the analysis of solid, structural, fluid, field, and heat transfer problems. Steady-state, transient, and dynamic conditions are considered. Finite element methods and solution procedures for linear and nonlinear analyses are presented using largely physical arguments. The homework and a term project (for graduate students) involve use of the general purpose finite element analysis program ADINA. Applications include finite element analyses, modeling of problems, and interpretation of numerical results.

This course presents finite element theory and methods for general linear and nonlinear analyses. Reliable and effective finite element procedures are discussed with their applications to the solution of general problems in solid, structural, and fluid mechanics, heat and mass transfer, and fluid-structure interactions. The governing continuum mechanics equations, conservation laws, virtual work, and variational principles are used to establish effective finite element discretizations and the stability, accuracy, and convergence are discussed. The homework and the student-selected term project using the general-purpose finite element analysis program ADINA are important parts of the course.

The objective is to teach in a unified manner the fundamentals of finite element analysis of solids, structures and fluids. This includes the theoretical foundations and appropriate use of finite element methods.

This design-based subject provides a first course in energy and thermo-sciences with applications to sustainable energy-efficient architecture and building technology. No previous experience with subject matter is assumed. After taking this subject, students will understand introductory thermodynamics and heat transfer, know the leading order factors in building energy use, and have creatively employed their understanding of energy fundamentals and knowledge of building energy use in innovative building design projects. This year, the focus will be on design projects that will complement the new NSTAR/MIT campus efficiency program.

Through a teacher demonstration using water, heat and food coloring, students see how convection moves the energy of the Sun from its core outwards. Students learn about the three different modes of heat transfer (convection, conduction, radiation) and how they are related to the Sun and life on our planet.

This course examines the process of heat transfer, or the movement of thermal energy from one place to another as the result of a temperature difference. The student will thoroughly examine each type of heat transfer (conduction, convection, and radiation), as well as combinations of these modes. Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to: Formulate basic equation for heat transfer problems; Apply heat transfer principles to design and to evaluate performance of thermal systems; Solve differential and algebraic equations associated with thermal systems using analytical and numerical approaches; Calculate the performance of heat exchangers; Calculate radiation heat transfer between objects with simple geometries; Calculate and evaluate the impacts of initial and boundary conditions on the solutions of a particular heat transfer problem; Evaluate the relative contributions of different modes of heat transfer. (Mechanical Engineering 204)

Students explore heat transfer and energy efficiency using the context of energy efficient houses. They gain a solid understanding of the three types of heat transfer: radiation, convection and conduction, which are explained in detail and related to the real world. They learn about the many ways solar energy is used as a renewable energy source to reduce the emission of greenhouse gasses and operating costs. Students also explore ways in which a device can capitalize on the methods of heat transfer to produce a beneficial result. They are given the tools to calculate the heat transferred between a system and its surroundings.

This video segment adapted from FETCH! shows contestants experimenting with different materials to see which is the best insulator and thus best able to keep the lemonade at their stand cool for customers.

Students learn about the nature of thermal energy, temperature and how materials store thermal energy. They discuss the difference between conduction, convection and radiation of thermal energy, and complete activities in which they investigate the difference between temperature, thermal energy and the heat capacity of different materials. Students also learn how some engineering requires an understanding of thermal energy.

Analysis, modeling, and design of heat and mass transfer processes with application to common technologies. Unsteady heat conduction in one or more dimensions, steady conduction in multidimensional configurations, numerical simulation; forced convection in laminar and turbulent flows; natural convection in internal and external configurations; phase change heat transfer; thermal radiation, black bodies, grey radiation networks, spectral and solar radiation; mass transfer at low rates, evaporation.

Students learn about the difference between temperature and thermal energy. They build a thermometer using simple materials and develop their own scale for measuring temperature. They compare their thermometer to a commercial thermometer, and get a sense for why engineers need to understand the properties of thermal energy.

Students learn about the advantages and disadvantages of the greenhouse effect. They construct their own miniature greenhouses and explore how their designs take advantage of heat transfer processes to create controlled environments. They record and graph measurements, comparing the greenhouse indoor and outdoor temperatures over time. Students are also introduced to global issues such as greenhouse gas emissions and their relationship to global warming.

The Online Science-athon offers elementary and middle-grade students opportunities to discover the science in their daily lives. Presented as challenges, the Science-athon asks students to investigate their world in ways that are engaging and fun, easy for teachers to incorporate into their teaching, and instructive. Students doing Catching Sunshine decide on a container -- tin can, cardboard box, plastic bucket, paper bag, or similar object -- to use as a solar collector. Then they determine how to maximize the amount of sunshine the collector catches by figuring out how to point it, what colors and textures to use on the inside surfaces, and how to insulate it. Reviewing scientific information helps students improve the effectiveness of their collector designs and make predictions about the ones they think will catch the most sunshine. On Catching Sunshine Day, students collect and record data to share with other students doing the challenge. Analysis of their data and data collected by others allows participants to formulate explanations, to check these explanations against scientific knowledge and the explanations and experiences of others, and to put their ideas to practical use.

The Online Science-athon offers elementary and middle-grade students opportunities to discover the science in their daily lives. Presented as challenges, the Science-athon asks students to investigate their world in ways that are engaging and fun, easy for teachers to incorporate into their teaching, and instructive. Students doing the Chocolate Melt decide on a container-tin can, cardboard box, plastic bucket, paper bag, or similar object-to use as a solar cooker. Then they consider how to melt a refrigerated standard-size milk chocolate chip that has been placed on the end of a toothpick inside the cooker in as short a time as possible. This includes figuring out how to reshape the container so that the heat from the sun is concentrated on the chocolate chip, deciding what colors and textures to use for lining inside surfaces and insulating the cooker, examining where to put the chocolate chip, and identifying how to point the cooker at the sun. Reviewing scientific information helps students improve the effectiveness of their cooker designs and make predictions about the ones they think will cook the most rapidly. On Chocolate Melting Day, students collect and record data to share with other students doing the challenge.