We did a lab today in chem involving Hess's Law and a question asked why it is better to have two styrofoam cups instead of just oneI think it has something to do with insulation but I'm not sure!Thanks
abrasive on aluminum is not very goodAL transfers heat very fast and the abrasive disc just wastes time heating the metal and makes for a terrible cut70-90 tooth Diablo Blade does an incredible job and little to no clean up.
use an abrasive blade and then, sand or grind off the burrI use Dremmel for thisYou can use a regular woodcutting blade, I use the one with the most teeth, and also, run it backwardsThis does work, but I still say that the abrasive blade is your best betThe burrs will come off of the aluminum quite easily.
It as absolutely about insulationThe premise behind a calorimeter is that all the energy from your reaction goes into heating the waterIf you know the volume of water, the temperature increase and the heat capacity of the calorimeter itself then you can calculate energy released by the reactionIt assumes no energy is lost to the surrounding at allStyrofoam cups make pretty good simple calorimeters but are not perfect, the extra cup is there to help minimise loss to the surroundings.
