Teaching Thermodynamics Using a Vacuum Container for Food

Abstract

When we teach thermodynamics, a vacuum container used to keep food isolated from air is a cheap and interesting teaching device. There are some experiments already described in the literature and we can also find videos of demonstrations on YouTube. At the same time, there is increasing interest in how to utilize smartphones in physics instruction, and an experiment using a smartphone with a canning jar has recently been reported. In this paper, I describe experiments combining the vacuum container and smartphone that I have recently tried to introduce into my physics class.