Can you explain the different ways heat can travel?

Heat can travel through 3 different processes: conduction, convection and radiation. Conduction is caused by atoms bumping into each other, transferring energy and therefore heat. An example of this would be when the handle of a metal spatula gets hot after it is left in boiling water. The energy has moved through the metal by conduction.Convection occurs in liquids and gasses. When they are heated they expand, this makes them less dense than the surrounding colder substance, and so they are forced up. They almost 'float'. This movement of warmer substance causes the heat to travel with it. One example would be the warm air rising off a hot radiator, you can observe this as it will cause a piece of paper to flutter above it, this is the movement of warm air.Radiation is emitted by all objects. This is because of invisible 'electromagnetic waves'. All objects emit these, however hotter objects emit more energy, so warm up things around them. This is how energy gets from the Sun to the Earth, despite there being no air in between. It is also how an open fire can warm you, even when the air between you and the fire is cold.In short, to help remember: conduction is atoms bumping, convection is hot fluids rising, and radiation is invisible waves carrying energy.

JG
Answered by Jake G. Physics tutor

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