Heat transfer
- click here to learn about heat transfer mechanisms.
Heat transfer is the movement or flow of heat energy. Heat transfer is often used to describe the dissipation of heat energy from one location to the surrounding environment. It is governed by two main properties. The first property is temperature, which is the amount of thermal energy available. The second property is the flow of this thermal energy.[1]
In terms of molecules, objects with higher temperatures have greater molecular agitation. In other words, the hotter something is, the faster its molecules move. Therefore heat transfer can also be viewed as the transfer of kinetic energy from one molecule to another.[2]
There are four ways in which heat transfer occurs: radiation (electromagnetic waves send energy) conduction (molecules wiggle and hit each other), convection (hot molecules move through a fluid like air or water), and evapotranspiration (energy moves when a material changes phase moving heat). These processes can occur individually or all four can occur simultaneously.
For Further Reading
- Heat
- Energy
- Conduction
- Convection and Forced convection
- Radiation
- Evapotranspiration
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References
- ↑ Hyperphysics, Heat Transfer [Online], Available: http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/thermo/heatra.html
- ↑ “Introduction to the Principles of Heat Transfer.” [Online]. Available: http://www.efunda.com/formulae/heat_transfer/home/overview.cfm.