Where does this come from, and can I check it?

A wax capsule swells as the room warms and pushes a pin against a spring. The figure is taken from Encyclopaedia Britannica, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.

Is this really a everyday life fact?

Yes. It sits on the Everyday Life shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.

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The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.

Mondo Knows Facts

Radiator valves open and close using expanding wax

A wax capsule swells as the room warms and pushes a pin against a spring The numbered head of a thermostatic radiator valve contains a small wax capsule that expands with temperature and presses a plunger onto the valve seat. A return spring reopens it as the room cools, so the radiator regulates itself without any electricity. The numbers are comfort settings rather than degrees. It sits in Mondo's everyday life collection, one of 200 facts that each trace back to the reference below.

Where this comes from

Encyclopaedia Britannica

Facts that can change over time are reviewed and updated. If something here looks wrong, Mondo would rather know than be confidently incorrect.

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Tags: heating, valves, thermostats

Radiator valves open and close using expanding wax: the short answers

Where does this come from, and can I check it?: A wax capsule swells as the room warms and pushes a pin against a spring. The figure is taken from Encyclopaedia Britannica, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
Is this really a everyday life fact?: Yes. It sits on the Everyday Life shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
What else can I read about it?: The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.