Department of Physics and Astronomy: Publications and Other Research
ORCID IDs
Date of this Version
2010
Document Type
Article
Citation
The Physics Teacher Vol. 48, March 2010
Abstract
It is claimed by the company NitroFill and the GetNitrogen Institute that filling car tires with nitrogen improves gas mileage considerably. The reason given is that oxygen leaks out of tires so that the increased rolling friction causes a reduced gas mileage. Because it is hard to do an actual road test, we report on a simple visual test of leakage from oxygen- and nitrogen-filled balloons. This experiment can be repeated in classrooms to address a controversial and topical issue, while at the same time highlighting hypothesis formulation, verification, and falsification in scientific experiments. During a time when gas prices can soar
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