The drinking bird is an exhibition of several physical laws and is therefore a staple of basic chemistry and physics education. These include:
* The dichloromethane with a low boiling point ( under standard pressure p Pa &ndash; as the drinking bird is first evacuated, partially filled and sealed, the pressure and thus the boiling point in the drinking bird will be different), gives the heat engine the ability to extract motion from low temperatures. The drinking bird is a heat engine that works at room temperature.
* The combined gas law, which establishes a proportional relationship between temperature and pressure exerted by a gas in a constant volume.
* The ideal gas law, which establishes a proportional relationship between number of gas particles and pressure in a constant volume.
* The Maxwell–Boltzmann distribution, which establishes that molecules in a given space at a given temperature vary in energy level, and therefore can exist in multiple phases (solid/liquid/gas) at a single temperature.
* Heat of vaporization (or condensation), which establishes that substances absorb (or give off) heat when changing state at a constant temperature.
* Torque and center of mass.
* Capillary action of the wicking felt.
* Wet-bulb temperature: The temperature difference between the head and body depends on the relative humidity of the air.
The operation of the bird is also affected by relative humidity.
By using a water-ethanol mixture instead of water, the effect of different rates of evaporation can be demonstrated.
By considering the difference between the wet and dry bulb temperatures, it is possible to develop a mathematical expression to calculate the maximum work that can be produced from a given amount of water "drunk". Such analysis is based on the definition of the Carnot heat engine efficiency and the psychrometric concepts.