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Methods of Heat Transfer Rates of Heat Transfer If you have been following along since the beginning of this

lesson, then you have been developing a progressively sophisticated understanding of temperature and heat. You should be developing a model of matter as consisting of particles which vibrate (wiggle about a fi ed position!, translate (move from one location to another! and even rotate (revolve about an imaginary a is!. These motions give the particles "inetic energy. Temperature is a measure of the average amount of "inetic energy possessed by the particles in a sample of matter. The more the particles vibrate, translate and rotate, the greater the temperature of the ob#ect. You have hopefully adopted an understanding of heat as a flow of energy from a higher temperature ob#ect to a lower temperature ob#ect. It is the temperature difference between the two neighboring ob#ects that causes this heat transfer. The heat transfer continues until the two ob#ects have reached thermal e$uilibrium and are at the same temperature. The discussion of heat transfer has been structured around some everyday e amples such as the cooling of a hot mug of coffee and the warming of a cold can of pop. %inally, we have e plored a thought e periment in which a metal can containing hot water is placed within a &tyrofoam cup containing cold water. Heat is transferred from the hot water to the cold water until both samples have the same temperature. 'ow we should probe some of the following $uestions( )hat is happening at the particle level when energy is being transferred between two ob#ects* )hy is thermal e$uilibrium always established when two ob#ects transfer heat* How does heat transfer wor" within the bul" of an ob#ect* Is there more than one method of heat transfer* If so, then how are they similar and different than one another* Conduction - A Particulate View +et,s begin our discussion by returning to our thought e periment in which a metal can containing hot water was placed within a &tyrofoam cup containing cold water. Heat is transferred from the hot water to the cold water until both samples have the same temperature. In this instance, the transfer of heat from the hot water through the metal can to the cold water is sometimes referred to asconduction. -onductive heat flow involves the transfer of heat from one location to another in the absence of any material flow. There is nothing physical or material moving from the hot water to the cold water. .nly energy is transferred from the hot water to the cold water. .ther than the loss of energy, there is nothing else escaping from the hot water. /nd other than the gain of

energy, there is nothing else entering the cold water. How does this happen* )hat is the mechanism that ma"es conductive heat flow possible* / $uestion li"e this is a particle0level $uestion. To understand the answer, we have to thin" about matter as consisting of tiny particles atoms, molecules and ions. These particles are in constant motion1 this gives them "inetic energy. /s mentioned previously in this lesson, these particles move throughout the space of a container, colliding with each other and with the walls of their container. This is "nown as translational "inetic energy and is the main form of "inetic energy for gases and li$uids. 2ut these particles can also vibrate about a fi ed position. This gives the particles vibrational "inetic energy and is the main form of "inetic energy for solids. To put it more simply, matter consists of little wigglers and little bangers. The wigglers are those particles vibrating about a fi ed position. They possess vibrational "inetic energy. The bangers are those particles that move through the container with translational "inetic energy and collide with the container walls. The container walls represent the perimeters of a sample of matter. 3ust as the perimeter of your property (as in real estate property! is the furthest e tension of the property, so the perimeter of an ob#ect is the furthest e tension of the particles within a sample of matter. /t the perimeter, the little bangers are colliding with particles of another substance 0 the particles of the container or even the surrounding air. 4ven the wigglers that are fi ed in a position along the perimeter are doing some banging. 2eing at the perimeter, their wiggling results in collisions with the particles that are ne t to them1 these are the particles of the container or of the surrounding air. /t this perimeter or boundary, the collisions of the little bangers and wigglers are elastic collisions in which the total amount of "inetic energy of all colliding particles is conserved. The net effect of these elastic collisions is that there is a transfer of "inetic energy across the boundary to the particles on the opposite side. The more energetic particles will lose a little "inetic energy and the less energetic particles will gain a little "inetic energy. Temperature is a measure of the average amount of "inetic energy possessed by the particles in a sample of matter. &o on average, there are more particles in the higher temperature ob#ect with greater "inetic energy than there are in the lower temperature ob#ect. &o when we average all the collisions together and apply the principles associated with elastic collisions to the particles within a sample of matter, it is logical to conclude that the higher temperature ob#ect will lose some "inetic energy and the lower temperature ob#ect will gain some "inetic energy. The collisions of our little bangers and wigglers will continue to transfer energy until the temperatures of the two ob#ects are identical. )hen this state of thermal e$uilibrium has been reached, the average "inetic energy of both ob#ects, particles is e$ual. /t thermal e$uilibrium, there are an e$ual number of collisions resulting in an energy gain as there are collisions resulting in an

energy loss. .n average, there is no net energy transfer resulting from the collisions of particles at the perimeter. /t the macroscopic level, heat is the transfer of energy from the high temperature ob#ect to the low temperature ob#ect. /t the particulate level, heat flow can be e plained in terms of the net effect of the collisions of a whole bunch of little bangers. )arming and cooling is the macroscopic result of this particle0level phenomenon. 'ow let,s apply this particle view to the scenario of the metal can with the hot water positioned inside of a &tyrofoam cup containing cold water. .n average, the particles with the greatest "inetic energy are the particles of the hot water. 2eing a fluid, those particles move about with translational "inetic energy and bang upon the particles of the metal can. /s the hot water particles bang upon the particles of the metal can, they transfer energy to the metal can. This warms the metal can up. Most metals are good thermal conductors so they warm up $uite $uic"ly throughout the bul" of the can. The can assumes nearly the same temperature as the hot water. 2eing a solid, the metal can consists of little wigglers. The wigglers at the outer perimeter of the metal can bang upon particles in the cold water. The collisions between the particles of the metal can and the particles of the cold water result in the transfer of energy to the cold water. This slowly warms the cold water up. The interaction between the particles of the hot water, the metal can and the cold water results in a transfer of energy outward from the hot water to the cold water. The average "inetic energy of the hot water particles gradually decreases1 the average "inetic energy of the cold0water particles gradually increases1 and eventually, thermal e$uilibrium would be reached at the point that the particles of the hot water and the cold water have the same average "inetic energy. /t the macroscopic level, one would observe a decrease in temperature of the hot water and an increase in temperature of the cold water. The mechanism in which heat is transferred from one ob#ect to another ob#ect through particle collisions is "nown as conduction. In conduction, there is no net transfer of physical stuff between the ob#ects. 'othing material moves across the boundary. The changes in temperature are wholly e plained as the result of the gains and losses of "inetic energy during collisions.

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