Crushing of Steel Drum

Dan Stamm, a physics teacher at Campbell High School in Smyrna, GA constructed a platform for heating water in a steel drum. The drums used had a surface area of about 3000 square inches. The force of one atmosphere of pressure on that area is about 44,000 lbs or 22 tons! Nevertheless, such cans can be made of reasonably thin steel because the same force normally acts outward from the inside of the vessel.

The procedure involved pouring about a gallon of water into the drum (just enough to cover the bottom) and and heating it over a propane burner for 15 to 30 minutes. The water is brought to the boiling point where its vapor pressure is equal to atmospheric pressure. The vapor will then push most of the air out of the can. The can is then sealed as the heat is removed. If the drum is cooled quickly, the sudden drop in vapor pressure will result in enough net inward pressure to crush the can. 该过程涉及将约一加仑的水倒入桶中（只需覆盖底部即可），然后在丙烷燃烧器上加热15到30分钟。水被加热至沸点，此时其蒸汽压等于大气压。蒸汽将推动罐内大部分空气排出。当热量移除时，将密封罐体。如果桶迅速冷却，蒸汽压的突然下降将导致足够的净内压，使罐体被压扁。 丹·斯塔姆是佐治亚州斯米纳市卡姆皮尔高中的一名物理老师，他设计了一个用于加热水的平台，使用的是钢桶。这些钢桶的表面积约为3000平方英寸。一个大气压对这个面积的力约为44,000磅或22吨！然而，这样的桶可以用相对薄的钢制成，因为同样的力通常作用于容器的内侧向外。