Story Three Physics - Phase Change
As a medium changes from one phase to another, energy is either released or absorbed. Energy is absorbed when changing from liquid to gas (vaporization) and released when changing from gas to liquid (condensation). Engineers use this phenomenon to move energy from one location to a different location in order to provide cooling or heating. Common cooling examples are refrigeration and air conditioning. A heat pump is capable of moving energy in either direction so it can provide both heating and cooling. The image to the right shows two condensing units, which are used to release heat, absorbed from a house’s indoor air, to the outdoors on a hot day by condensing a refrigerant that was vaporized by heat absorbed from the indoor air.
How the physics is depicted
In the book, the transforming creature, called a phaze, represents the medium that changes from one phase to another. The transformation from layten to sprog represents vaporization (energy absorbed to provide cooling). The transformation from sprog to layten represents condensation (energy released to provide heating). Actually, our hero’s depiction on the chalkboard captures the idea quite nicely.
More than you wanted to know …
The term latent heat is used to describe the heat (energy) required to convert a medium from one phase to another. An approximation of the term “latent heat” is hidden in the text of this story - can you find it?
The expression “three-dog-night” (approximated in book as “three sprog night”) means a night so bitterly cold you need three dogs in bed with you to keep you warm. It is believed to have originated in either Alaska, Siberia, or the Australian Outback. Three Dog Night is also the name of an American rock band popular in the late 60s and 70s.