Pirate Chemistry 2009

Types of Heat Transfer

Anyone who has burned themselves realizes that there are a variety of ways to do it. We have all grabbed something that very hot, like a pan on the stove. We have also been burned by the hot air coming from a hair dryer. I doubt that anyone has escaped getting a sunburn at some point in their lives. These three examples illustrate the three different ways that heat is transferred from one substance to another; conduction, convection, and radiation. Conduction: heat transfer through direct contact of atoms; particle to particle Convection: heat transfer through moving of actual particles in a fluid Radiation: heat transfer through pure energy in the form of waves through space The pictures below show examples of these:

http://www.beodom.com/assets/images/blog/principlesthermal-insulation/heat-transmittance-means.jpg

http://earthfortress.com/wp-content/ uploads/2009/06/heatrans.jpg

You can see that for conduction to happen, there has to be direct contact. For convection to occur you have to have movement of a fluid; usually air or water. Warm air rises, bringing heat with it. Warm water rises to the top while cold circulates to the bottom. Radiation is the energy we feel from the reaction itself. It doesnt need direct contact or movement of a fluid.

http://earthstorm.mesonet.org/images/ cond_conv_rad_small.jpg

All text copyright Chris Smith 2009. All pictures obtained from internet and are copyright of their owners but assumed to be public accessible. If you are the owner of a picture and want it removed, email csmith@d211.org, and it will be.

Pirate Chemistry 2009

A thermos or vacuum flask is a perfect example of the types of heat transfer. A thermos usually has a mirrored, reflective lining to stop radiation. A thermos then suspends a container inside an outer shell with a vacuum in between. This vacuum contains literally nothing no air; nothing. Thus, there can be no movement of air through this vacuum and it stops convection. The only heat transfer allowed is conduction when the liquid being poured into the thermos contacts the inside container. You can even prime your thermos to keep your substance hot or cold longer by doing the following procedure. If you wish to keep something hot, pour boiling water into your thermos first. Dump out the boiling water and then pour in your hot liquid and close up the thermos. This boiling water heated up the inner container first so it was already hot and didnt absorb heat from the liquid you wish to keep hot. If you want to keep something cold, pour ice water into the thermos. This cools down the inner container. Pour out the ice water and then pour in your cold liquid and the inner part of the thermos will already be cold and therefore absorb less heat by conduction from your liquid. A thermos is able to keep hot things hot and cold things cold because it cuts down on all heat transfer. If you have hot soup you want to keep hot, the thermos keeps the heat from escaping. If you have cold water you want to keep cold, the thermos keeps the heat on the outside from getting in to your cold water. By stopping conduction, convection, and radiation, a thermos minimizes heat transfer and the substances stay at their current temperatures longer.

This thermos stops radiation because of its silvery, reflective lining. There is a vacuum in here. Because there is no air, there can be no convection. The only conduction that is allowed is with the inner container; not with the outside environment. Unfortunately, no thermos is perfect because of the supports necessary to prevent the inner container from rattling and breaking.

All text copyright Chris Smith 2009. All pictures obtained from internet and are copyright of their owners but ashttp://uk.geocities.com/nsc_zambia/chart/01vaccm.jpg sumed to be public accessible. If you are the owner of a picture and want it removed, email csmith@d211.org, and it will be.

Pirate Chemistry 2009

Questions
1. What are the three types of heat transfer? 2. Tell whether each example below are examples of conduction, convection, or radiation? A. You are swimming in a lake and suddenly encounter a cold spot B. You touch a light bulb that has been on for a while. C. You feel the heat coming off of a neon light. D. The clouds obscure the sun for a minute and you feel cooler. E. You feel a warm breeze. F. You grab snowball. 3. How does a thermos know to keep hot things hot and cold things cold? 4. How does a thermos cut down radiation? 5. How does a thermos cut down convection? 6. What can you do to prime a thermos for use? 7. Why will the coffee in the coffee cup below get colder much faster than the coffee in the thermos?

http://www.reflectixinc.com/images/ uploads/thermos-and-cup.gif All text copyright Chris Smith 2009. All pictures obtained from internet and are copyright of their owners but assumed to be public accessible. If you are the owner of a picture and want it removed, email csmith@d211.org, and it will be.