Why No Explosion?Science brain teasers require understanding of
the physical or biological world and the laws that govern it. It
is scientific fact that if all else is held constant, the
pressure of a gas varies directly with its temperature. In other
words, if you have a gas in a sealed, insulated, rigid container
and you double its temperature, its pressure will also double.
If you triple the temperature, the pressure will triple, etc.
This is not EXACTLY true, but it is close enough for the purpose
of this teaser. Why is it, then, that if I were to fill my tires
with 32 psi of air on a day that is 2 degrees Celsius, the tires
won't explode if the temperature later increases to 20 degrees
Celsius (which would seemingly increase the pressure 10-fold to
320 psi, well beyond the capacity of most tires)? Assume that
the temperature of the air in the tire always matches the
temperature outdoors: it starts at 2 degrees and ends at 20
degrees. Also ignore the fact that the tires will expand.
HintThis problem is re