 Thermal expansion

Thermal expansion is a change in a body's dimensions as its temperature changes under a specified mechanical constraint. A heated gas under a freely moving loaded piston usually increases its volume at fixed pressure; heating the same gas in a rigid vessel instead raises its pressure. The coefficient of thermal expansion quantifies the first response. Expansion can be negative, so the name does not assert that every substance grows on heating.

For an ideal gas at fixed pressure and particle number, $V=N{k}_{B}T/P$ gives $V_2/V_1=T_2/T_1$. Heating from $300\mathrm{K}$ to $330\mathrm{K}$ therefore increases the volume by exactly $10\%$ within the ideal gas model. For a solid, specify whether the measurement concerns length or volume: for uniform expansion in all three directions, the volumetric coefficient is three times the linear thermal expansion coefficient, because $V\propto L^3$. Direction-dependent expansion requires the separate dimensional responses. ^[ref]

Thermal expansion refers to the tendency of matter to change its shape, area, and volume in response to changes in temperature. As the temperature of a substance increases, its particles move more rapidly, leading to an increase in the average distance between them. This results in the expansion of the material. Thermal expansion occurs in all states of matter—solids, liquids, and gases—but the degree of expansion can vary significantly among different materials.