1. Understanding Heat Transfer: Conduction, Convection and Radiation

2. Question
If a cup of coffee is left on the table in this room what would happen to it? Why?
If a popsicle is left on the table in this room what would happen to it? Why?

3. What is Heat?
HEAT is the TRANSFER of thermal energy (transfer of vibration from molecule to molecule)
Heat always moves from a warmer place (more vibrations) to a cooler place (less vibrations).

4. What is Heat?
Hot objects (coffee) in a cooler room will cool to room temperature.
Thermal Energy in coffee transfers into the air
Cold objects (popsicle) in a warmer room will heat up to room temperature.
Thermal Energy in air transfers into popsicle

5. Heat Transfer Methods Heat transfers in three ways: Conduction
Convection
Radiation

6. Conduction
How it Happens: When you heat a material at one end, the heat travels to the other end through vibrations.
As you heat the material, the particles vibrate.
These vibrations make the adjacent particles vibrate, and so on.
The vibrations passes along the heat.

7. Conduction
Where it Happens: Conduction occurs in solids and liquids.
Why? The atoms/molecules in solids and liquids are close together, so they can pass along the vibrations and heat.
Gases do not conduct heat well, because the atoms/molecules are farther apart.

8. Good conductors
Metals are very good conductors of heat.
Free valence electrons in metallic bonds lets metals conduct heat quickly (easier to pass along vibrations!)
Other good heat conductors include:
Stone
Tile
Glass
Water

9. Gases are bad conductors
Bad conductors are called Insulators
Insulators do not have free moving electrons OR the atoms are too far apart. So they do not conduct heat as well as metals.
Examples include:
Air (and all other gases)
Wood
Plastic
Carpet
Styrofoam

10. Example Pictures

11. When it is cold out, why does metal feel colder than wood, if they are both at the same temperature?
Metal is a conductor. Metal conducts the heat away from your hands.
Examples of other good conductors: Stone, tile
Wood is an insulator (bad conductor). Wood does not conduct the heat away from your hands as well as the metal, so the wood feels warmer than the metal.

12. Convection
How it happens: As a fluid (liquid or gas) heats up, the particles in it spread out.
This makes it less dense. And it begins to rise.
When it cools, it becomes more dense and sinks. This creates a convection current.

13. Convection
Where it happens: Convection occurs in all fluids (liquid or a gas)!
Warmer
Colder

14. Fluid movement
Cooler, more dense, liquids and gases sink
While…
Warmer, less dense, liquids and gases rise up.
This Creates a
CONVECTION CURRENT.

15. Water movement Cools at the surface Convection current Hot water rises
Cooler water sinks

16. Why is it windy at the seaside?

17. Examples of Convection and Convection Currents
Convection Currents can be found in:
A boiling pot of water
Blowing Wind
Heating a home
In the ocean
Inside the earth (plate tectonics)

18. Example Pictures

19. Radiation
How it happens: Radiation is the transfer of heat by electromagnetic waves (“EM”).
Radiation requires NO atoms/molecules. So it can happen in outer space, where there are almost no atoms.
Examples of “EM”:
Light
X-rays
microwaves
Ultraviolet (UV rays)
Infrared (IR rays)

20. Radiation
Where it happens: It happens EVERYWHERE. All objects radiate heat.
Radiation requires NO atoms/molecules.
So…
It is the only way to transfer heat in outer space, where there are almost no atoms.
Remember: Convection and Conduction DO need atoms/molecules to transfer heat.

21. Radiation
How does heat energy get from the Sun to the Earth?
There are no particles between the Sun and the Earth so it CANNOT travel by conduction or by convection.
RADIATION ?

22. Example Pictures

23. Radiation Radiation travels in straight lines True/False
Radiation can travel through a vacuum (empty space)
Radiation requires particles to travel
Radiation travels at the speed of light

24. Convection questions Why does hot air rise and cold air sink?
Cool air is more dense than warm air, so the cool air ‘falls through’ the warm air.
Why are the heaters in a hot water tank placed at the bottom of the tank?
Hot water rises.
So when the boiler heats the water, and the hot water rises, the water tank is filled with hot water.

25. Conduction questions
Why does a metal bar placed in a fire get hot at the end?
The atoms and electrons in the bar begin to pass along the heat as they vibrate.
How does a frying pan cook food?
The metal pan conducts heat from the stove into the food

26. Radiation questions
How can you feel a fire even though you stand far back from it?
The fire radiates the heat out into the room.
Why are shiny foil blankets wrapped around marathon runners at the end of a race?
The shiny metal reflects the heat radiation from the runner back in, this stops the runner getting cold.

27. 1. Which of the following is not a method of heat transfer?
A. Radiation
B. Insulation
C. Conduction
D. Convection

28. 2. Which would be the BEST conductor of heat?
A. Solid
B. Liquid
C. Gas
D. Fluid

29. 3. How does heat energy reach the Earth from the Sun?
A. Radiation
B. Conduction
C. Convection
D. Insulation