As materials warm up, the particle model of matter says that their particles move faster and spread

apart. We expect substances to expand (increase in volume) as their temperature rises. Falling temperature means that average particle motion is slowing down. It seems logical to expect substances to contract (decrease in volume) as they cool. You can check those predictions by observing the behaviour of common pure substances. A pure substance is a type of matter that is made of only one kind of particle. On Earth, a pure substance may exist as a solid, liquid, or gas. These are the three states or phases of matter. Gold, oxygen, and water are examples of pure substances. Examine the illustrations to review the key characteristics of each state

In the solid state, materials keep their shape and size. Solids like ice have a definite shape and volume and cannot be compressed into a smaller space. In the liquid state, materials have a definite size (volume), but no fixed shape. Liquids like water settle to the bottom of their container and take its shape. Liquids cannot be compressed. Gases have no definite shape or volume. They expand to fill all parts of their container and can easily be compressed into a smaller space.

Many gases cannot be seen. For example, the space just above a kettles spout is filled with invisible water vapour (steam). As the water vapour (water in the gaseous state) rises and cools, it forms a cloud of tiny drops of liquid water.

The lengths of solid bars of different materials can be measured at different temperatures using very precise equipment. Table 1 shows some of these measurements. You can see that the changes in a 100 cm long bar are very small. If the bar were twice as long, however, the changes would be twice as large. In a very long structure, such as a bridge or a train track, the small changes can add up and become very important.

we have so many uses of it through out the day.. while you travel somewhere you generally use trains to travel so the heat makes the steel contract or expand. In our kitchen also we need thermal expansion because when a container is damn hard to open, we keep it in hot water and the cap is released very quickly! Whereas the wires which help us use up electricity also work on the basis of thermal expansion.. the temperature rises and so the wires expand and because of this there are greater length of power lines expanding from one pole to another. even bridges which help us to travel from one place in the city to another are also working on the basis of thermal expansion.