Triz Principle # 36 Phase transitions
September 17, 2009 in Innovation
Substances often go through changes, such as expanding, evaporating, cooling or changing shape. Think about how this happens and how you can start, stop or otherwise control the change.
A. Use phenomena occurring during phase transitions (e.g. volume changes, loss or absorption of heat, etc.)
· Water expands when frozen, unlike most other liquids. Hannibal is reputed to have used this when marching on Rome a few thousand years ago.
· Large rocks blocked passages in the Alps. He poured water on them at night. The overnight cold froze the water, and the expansion split the rocks into small pieces which could be pushed aside.
- Heat pumps use the heat of vaporization and heat of condensation of a closed thermodynamic cycle to do useful work.