Using Rubbing Alcohol to Cool Down a Car

Overview

Objectives/Goals The objective of this project is to see if spraying rubbing alcohol mixed with water can cool down a car and if so, to determine how effective different concentrations of alcohol would be compared to more conventional ways. Methods/Materials Different concentrations of alcohol were individually tested in each experiment by spraying them onto the interior of a car. The time it took to cool the car from 29 degress C to 21 degress C was recorded. These results were compared to cooling a car by more conventional methods such as using air conditioning. Results It took 4 min and 30 sec to cool the car from 29 to 21 degrees C using 70% rubbing alcohol, 8 min and 28 sec with a mixture of water and 70% rubbing alcohol, and 10 min and 24 sec with just water. These were significant results due to the fact that the temperature did not change for 9 min when nothing was sprayed. It took 3 min and 49 sec when air conditioning was used. Conclusions/Discussion Based on the results of these experiments, rubbing alcohol significantly cools down the car compared to when nothing is sprayed. This was shown by testing the solution with just water, since it took much longer for the car to cool down. Furthermore, the temperature of the car did not change for nine minutes when nothing was sprayed. Although using air conditioning is faster, rubbing alchol does cool down a car significantly on a hot day and saves energy.

Competition history

• CSEF 2009 Materials Science (Junior Division Only) · Entry J1507

Resources

• CSEF project summary ↗

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