When introducing heat transfer and insulation to my students, I have found that an insulation contest can be a good start. The experiment is fun, and it gets students thinking and wondering about heat transfer. When they have experienced how difficult it is to construct their own insulated container, they are very interested to know how a real Thermos® bottle works. One could also let a Thermos® bottle be an extra “participant” in the contest.

Topics
Thermodynamic states and processes, Education
1.
Instead of a cardboard box, you can use anything you find in sufficient number that gives room for about an inch or so of insulation material between its walls and the cup.
2.
Stabilotherm AB, Ekhagsvegen 4, 14171 Huddinge, Sweden.
3.
L.A. Bloomfield, How Things Work: The Physics of Everyday Life (Wiley, New York, 1996), p. 270.
4.
R.A. Serway, Physics for Scientists & Engineers with Modern Physics, 3rd ed. (Saunders, Philadelphia, 1990), p. 546.
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© 2008 American Association of Physics Teachers.
2008
American Association of Physics Teachers
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