Physics

Problem

Steel rails, each 12.0 m long, are laid end-to-end on a winter morning when the temperature is 15 °C. The highest recorded temperature at the location is 45 °C. If the coefficient of linear expansion of steel is

1.2\times10^{-5}\,\text{K}^{-1}

, the minimum gap to be left between successive rails to prevent buckling on the hottest day is closest to a)

8.6\ \text{mm}

4.3\ \text{mm}

6.5\ \text{mm}

3.6\ \text{mm}

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