Thermal Dilation of Copper

Abstract

The prediction that certain cubic metals may not be precisely cubic throughout a range of temperature below their melting points led to the present investigation. Pure copper was chosen as the cubic metal to examine for anisotropy in its thermal dilation, and the (024) and the (331) planes were chosen in the lattice. Temperatures for examination ranged between 18°–770°C, using a 19-cm high-temperature powder camera by Unicam of Cambridge, England. Plotting the lattice constant vs. temperature, the thermal dilation of pure copper was found to be isotropic throughout the temperature range investigated.