Linear Thermal Expansion Coefficient

Linear thermal expansion coefficient, abbreviated as \(\overrightarrow{\alpha_l}\)  (Greek symbol alpha), also called coefficient of linear thermal expansion, is the ratio of the change in size of a material to its change in temperature.

 

Linear thermal expansion coefficient Formula
\(\large{ \overrightarrow{\alpha_l}  =  \frac{ l_f \;-\; l_i }{ l_i \; \left( T_f \;-\; T_i  \right)   }   }\)
Symbol	English	Metric
\(\large{ \overrightarrow{\alpha_l} }\)   (Greek symbol alpha) = linear thermal expansion coefficient	\(\large{ \frac{in}{in\;F} }\)	\(\large{ \frac{mm}{mm\;C} }\)
\(\large{ l_f }\) = final length	\(\large{ft}\)	\(\large{m}\)
\(\large{ l_i }\) = initial length	\(\large{ft}\)	\(\large{m}\)
\(\large{ T_f }\) = final temperature	\(\large{F}\)	\(\large{C}\)
\(\large{ T_i }\) = initial temperature	\(\large{F}\)	\(\large{C}\)