Heat Is The Transfer Of Thermal Energy Between...

Heat is the transfer of thermal energy between substances. Thermal energy is the kinetic energy of moving particles of matter. If you go camping, you usually build a fire to sit around at night. Have you ever wondered why a marshmallow cooks without touching the flame, why the smoke rises, or why water in a pan boils? Heat can move from one object to another in three different ways: conduction, convection and radiation. Some sources of heat may include the following: the sun, friction, and the earth. Life on earth depends on the sun. The sun provides heat/light for the entire solar system. A person could generate a fire by rubbing two sticks together. The Earth contains much heat seep inside. Some of the heat escapes to the surface†¦show more content†¦Thermal energy radiates through air from a fire causing the fire’s energy to transfer to the marshmallow. As stated before, thermal conductor occurs when particles of warmer matter bump into particles of cooler matter and transfer some of their thermal energy to the cooler particles. Conduction is usually faster in certain solids and liquids than in gases. Returning to the example of a camp fire; what happens if you use an old metal hangar to roast hot dogs? As the hot dogs cooks, the fire heats the end of the hanger. If we leave the hanger in the fire long enough, eventually the end we are holding will become too hot for us to handle. The flames to the metal were transferred by the heat, and then from molecule to molecule in the hanger. Now, what would have happened if you had chosen a stick to roast your hot dog? Though the stick may have caught fire, it would not have conducted the heat to your hand. This is because wood is a very poor heat conductor. Heat insulators are materials that do not let heat move through them easily. They do not conduct heat well. Plastic, wood and some fabrics are good thermal insulators. Thermal insulators are good at keeping heat out and keeping heat in. A winter scarf is a good example of a thermal insulator. It stops the heat from your body escaping into the cold air. Temperature is defined as the average kinetic energy of the particles of matter. When