Ball and Ring Apparatus
Product Code : LSK-H-11154
Ball and Ring Apparatus (SKU LSK-H-11154) demonstrates the thermal expansion of a solid: a 19 mm brass ball passes through a brass ring when both are cold but will not pass once the ball has been heated. The ring is mounted on a rod with a wooden handle, and the ball is held captive to it by a chain. It is a classic demonstration for middle-school science and Class 11 physics. Science Lab Supplies manufactures it at Plot 448, HSIIDC Industrial Area, Saha, Ambala, India, supplying schools, colleges and distributors directly.
Specifications
Each detail of the ball and ring set has its own row. Put briefly, it pairs a 19 mm brass ball with a brass ring sized so that the cold ball just passes, mounts the ring on a rod with a wooden handle, and links the ball to the ring with a chain so it cannot be lost.
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| SKU | LSK-H-11154 |
| Ball material | Brass |
| Ball diameter | 19 mm |
| Ring material | Brass |
| Ring mounting | Mounted on a rod |
| Handle | Wooden handle on the ring rod |
| Ball retention | Captive ball secured to the ring by a chain |
| Working principle | Ball passes through the ring when cold; does not pass after heating |
| Demonstrates | Thermal expansion of solids |
| Manufacturer | Science Lab Supplies, Saha, Ambala, Haryana |
| Country of origin | India |
Applications and Experiments for the Ball and Ring Apparatus
The teacher shows the cold ball slipping through the ring, heats the ball in a flame and shows that it now sticks, then lets it cool until it passes again. This makes expansion of solids visible to a whole class within a minute or two.
- Class 7–8 science: heat makes solids expand and cooling makes them contract.
- Class 11 physics: introduction to thermal expansion before measuring it quantitatively, for example with the Linear Expansion Apparatus.
- Comparing the uniform expansion of one metal with the bending of a Bimetallic Strip made of two metals.
- Explaining everyday cases such as gaps in rails and loosening a tight metal lid with hot water.
A flame such as the Brass Spirit Lamp 100ml heats the ball. The heated brass stays hot for some time, so hold the apparatus only by the wooden handle and let the teacher handle the flame.
Standard Scope of Supply
The apparatus is supplied as one unit: the 19 mm brass ball, the brass ring on its rod with a wooden handle, and the chain that keeps the ball captive. A burner or spirit lamp is not part of the apparatus and can be added as a separate line on the quotation.
Packing, MOQ and Lead Time
We can quote one apparatus for a teacher's demonstration kit or several for practical groups. Each Science Lab Supplies quotation confirms packing, delivery time and price for the number you need, and spirit lamps or other heat apparatus can be priced together.
Under its Importer-Exporter Code, Science Lab Supplies can ship to buyers in Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Uganda. Price requests for heat apparatus can be made via the contact page or the enquiry cart; schools buying by tender will find the process on the lab tender page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does the hot ball not pass through the ring?
Heating makes the brass atoms vibrate more and sit slightly further apart, so the ball grows a little in every direction. Its diameter becomes larger than the opening of the cold ring, and it sticks until it cools.
What size is the ball?
The brass ball measures 19 mm in diameter. It is attached to the mounted brass ring by a chain, so the two parts stay together during demonstrations and storage.
Is the apparatus safe for students to handle?
Only the wooden handle should be held. After heating, the brass ball and ring are hot enough to burn, so the flame and hot metal should be managed by the teacher and left to cool before storage.
Is Science Lab Supplies the manufacturer or a trader?
Science Lab Supplies is the manufacturer of this apparatus, which is produced at its Saha, Ambala factory in Haryana. Schools and dealers therefore receive their quotation from the producer itself.
Related Heat and Expansion Apparatus
These items extend the lesson from simple expansion to measured expansion, liquids, conduction and heat sources. Any of them can be quoted together with the ball and ring apparatus to equip a heat section in a school or college physics laboratory.
- Pyrometer — all-metal apparatus with an engraved scale and three test rods of different metals.
- Expansion of Liquid Apparatus — five graduated capillary tubes with bulbs in a hot-water trough.
- Conductometer, For Thermal Conductivity — brass, copper, aluminium, iron and stainless steel rods on a hub.
- Conductivity Ring — copper, brass, steel and aluminium strips with wax cups.
- Joule's Calorimeter — copper calorimeter with a heating coil and two terminals.
- Searle's Thermal Conductivity Apparatus — 30 cm copper rod in a felt-lined wooden case.
- Laboratory Spirit Burner — 100 ml metal burner with cotton wick and snuffer cap.
Browse the full Heat range, the Properties of Matter range for expansion of liquids and gas laws, or all physics lab equipment.
Last updated: 9 October 2026