Chemistry Questions: Please help, it's important.

[italiandragon]

Hi, I don`t have the technical knowledge in English so I`m looking for some help to assess the risk of leaving some plastic items and batteries for long time in the hot australian sun. Also I`m trying to understand a few things related to the subjects.

At the moment I`d need to know:

1) what is the possible highest temperature inside a closed car?

In a 40 Celsius degrees day (104 Fahrenheit) , I have found reports of 78 Celsius degrees (172.4 Fahrenheit)


2) Water boils at 100 Celsius degrees , so why if I leave a bucket full of water in the garden, it will totally evaporate after few days of temperatures in the 30s Celsius only?


3) Does a normal window increase or decrease the heat coming from sunlight? Example: I have the TV with some Cds that are just next to a big window where the sun hits for hours each day. The CDs have now faded in colour. Batteries (AA) were leaking and I found that potassium Hidroxide inside the batteries is corrosive so I`m quite alarmed that I have to get rid of everthing. Is it possible that the window worked as lens and incresed the temperature hiting the items near the TV like when people try to create fire with paper and lens?

4) does anyone know the temperature of a candle light or of a lighter or simply of the flame?


Thanks to everyone that will help with these questions and forgive me if I`ll be slow in my replies but I`m currently ill with a bad cold/flu and am not using much the computer these days.

 

[Barrucadu]

I'll answer what I can...

2) Water boils at 100 Celsius degrees , so why if I leave a bucket full of water in the garden, it will totally evaporate after few days of temperatures in the 30s Celsius only?

This is because the water is being continuously heated over that period of time, and so some of the molecules gain enough energy to evapourate. Over a period of time, this causes all of the water to evapourate.

3) Does a normal window increase or decrease the heat coming from sunlight? Example: I have the TV with some Cds that are just next to a big window where the sun hits for hours each day. The CDs have now faded in colour. Batteries (AA) were leaking and I found that potassium Hidroxide inside the batteries is corrosive so I`m quite alarmed that I have to get rid of everthing. Is it possible that the window worked as lens and incresed the temperature hiting the items near the TV like when people try to create fire with paper and lens?

Probably not, unless you have a curved window.

4) does anyone know the temperature of a candle light or of a lighter or simply of the flame?

Not really sure, but I seem to recall being told a few hundred degrees C.

 

[italiandragon]

I'll answer what I can...


This is because the water is being continuously heated over that period of time, and so some of the molecules gain enough energy to evapourate. Over a period of time, this causes all of the water to evapourate.



Probably not, unless you have a curved window.


Not really sure, but I seem to recall being told a few hundred degrees C.

Thank you Michael Why a curved window would do that? (sorry if this sounds dumb)

Thanks again!

 

[mhdoc]

Why a curved window would do that? (sorry if this sounds dumb)

Think of a magnifying glass; the thicker glass bends the light. "Refraction"

If you look up "sublimation" you will find answers to your earlier evaporation question

 

[italiandragon]

Think of a magnifying glass; the thicker glass bends the light. "Refraction"

If you look up "sublimation" you will find answers to your earlier evaporation question

Thanks guys, rep for both

I found the answer to question 4 now:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flame

Thanks

 

[shockie]

a little addendum to #3: the window won't appreciably add or subtract the total amount of heat via sunlight coming through, but it will increase the temperature inside the car since there's no ventilation.

also, any curving of the glass won't add the total energy either, it would just refocus and intensify the heat at a certain point (ie, other parts will be less hot).