Heat energy can be transferred through conduction, convection, and radiation. Objects of different temperatures will try to reach thermal equilibrium, transferring heat from hot to cold. Conduction occurs when molecules transfer heat by bumping into each other, while convection involves the transfer of heat through the movement of fluids. Radiation is the transfer of heat energy through infrared rays and can occur through a vacuum.
Matter will transfer heat energy in three ways: conduction, convection and radiation. When two objects of different temperatures are placed together, the objects will try to reach thermal equilibrium. That is, heat will be transferred from higher concentration to lower concentration, from hot to cold. In other words, the hotter object will transfer heat to the cooler object until both objects have the same temperature. Once objects reach equilibrium, they will tend to stay there unless there is some sort of external change.
The molecules in an object with higher thermal energy vibrate faster than an object with low thermal energy. Moving molecules can then bump into other molecules, causing them to move as energy is transferred. Conduction is what happens when objects transfer heat energy from molecules as they bump into each other. This can be seen when a metal spoon is dipped into hot tea. The molecules in the tea vibrate against the molecules in the spoon, causing the molecules to accelerate and thus heat up the spoon.
Another way to move heat energy is convection. Convection has to do with the transfer of heat through the movement of fluids. There are two types of convection: natural and forced convection. Forced convection uses things like a pump or fan to move fluids and transfer heat. Examples of forced convection include convection ovens and fluid heat radiator systems.
Natural convection occurs when a fluid has two different temperatures which cause different densities. An example of natural convection is heating water on a stove. The heat from the stove heats the bottom of the water, causing the molecules to vibrate faster. As the molecules vibrate, they expand and lose density, causing warmer water to rise and colder water to sink. The colder water will warm up and rise to the surface. The circular current produced by this process is called the convection current and is responsible for many aspects of the weather.
The latest method the world uses to transfer heat energy is radiation. With radiation, objects can transfer heat energy through a vacuum. This is the type of heat transfer by which the sun warms the earth. In this process, heat energy is transferred in the form of infrared rays. Although heat energy can be transferred through radiation, we feel heat when infrared rays hit an object, such as air, and cause molecules to move faster, heating up.
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