3 Modes of heat transfer

Conduction
Heat conduction (as opposed to electrical conduction) is the flow of internal energy from a region of higher
temperature to one of lower temperature by the interaction of the adjacent particles (atoms, molecules, ions,
electrons, etc.) in the intervening space.
Note: it's the rate () at which heat is transferred, not the amount (Q) of heat transferred.
=
Q
t
=
dQ
dt



W =
J

s
Factors affecting the rate of heat transfer by conduction.
1. temperature difference
2. length
3. cross-sectional area
4. material (including its heat capacity)
=
kAT

Fourier's law (compare to Ohm's law)
=
P
=
Q
= k T
A A t
Conductivities vary for material being greatest for metallic solids, lower for nonmetallic solids, very low for
liquids, and extremely low for gases. The best ordinary metallic conductors are (in decreasing order) silver,
copper, gold, aluminum, beryllium, and tungsten. Diamond beats them all, and graphite beats diamond only if
the heat can be forced to conduct in a direction parallel to the crystal layers. The material with the greatest
thermal conductivity is a superfluid form of liquid helium called helium II, which only exists at temperatures
below 2.17 K. Since it is highly unlikely you will encounter this substance, it is really not worth thinking about
except in the fact that it is an exceptional material.
Thoughts on conductivity
The preferred utensil for candy making is the wooden spoon. Metal utensils conduct heat away and
interfere with controlled crystallization.
Why are toilet seats cold even if the air in the bathroom isn't?
Why did Eskimos traditionally build shelters out of snow? Isn't snow cold?
Related quantities: r value.
T = R
q
R =

t kA
The clo. studies of clothing have lead to the definition of the unit of clothing, which corresponds to the
insulating value of clothing needed to maintain a subject in comfort sitting at rest in a room at 21 (70 )
with air movement of 0.1 m/s and humidity less than 50%. One clo of insulation is equivalent to a lightweight
business suit.
Newton's law of cooling:
Q/t T

Heat leaks faster from a cool house than a warm house. Thus, it's more cost effective to turn your air
conditioner off when you're away, than to leave it on hoping to keep your house cool.
Convection
Convection is the transfer of internal energy into or out of an object by the physical movement of a
surrounding fluid that transfers the internal energy along with its mass. Although the heat is initially
transferred between the object and the fluid by conduction, the bulk transfer of energy comes from the
motion of the fluid. Convection can arise spontaneously (or naturally or freely) through the creation of
convection cells or can be forced by propelling the fluid across the object or by the object through the fluid.

Spontaneous convection
Spontaneous convection is driven by buoyancy for the most part and surface tension to a lesser extent.
exposed surface area
viscosity
density
conductivity (when conductivity is high, there is no need for convection)
acceleration due to gravity
Examples
general
o boyancy driven convection bnard cells Rayleigh-Bnard convection
o surface tension driven convection surface downwelling Marangoni effect Rayleigh-
Bnard-Marangoni convection
atmospheric circulation
o local
updrafts anabatic winds
thermals
Water molecules near the stove are heated up via conduction
due to temperature differences; this causes the water near the
stove to expand, increasing its volume which results in decrease
in density. Since it is now less dense than the rest, it will rise. As
it reaches the top, the thermal energy is now conducted to the
nearby water molecules, causing them to increase in
temperature as well. This causes the loss of heat, causing the
water to contract and increasing its density, sinking as cool
water now instead. This cycle repeats until all water in the pot is
warmed of thermal equilibrium.
cumulus clouds: stratoculumus, altocumulus, cirrocumulus, and big daddy
cumulonimbus
downdrafts -- katabatic winds
downbursts, microbursts
mountain winds: chinook, foehn (fhn), santa ana, diablo, viento zonda,
bergwind
o global hadley cells (tropical), ferrel cells (temperate - less well defined), polar cells (polar,
obviously)
polar high
polar easterlies
polar front
prevailing westerlies temperate zone zone of mixing
horse latitudes subtropical deserts
trade winds (ex. aliz)
doldrums inter-tropical convergence zone
ITCZ follows the sun (thermal equator)
monsoons
ocean currents are driven by a combination of temperature and salinity gradients (thermohaline
circulation) in the deep ocean, by winds near the surface, and by topography everywhere water
touches land
o gulf stream
the historical first reported ocean current
keeps Europe warmer than north America at the same latitude
o deep ocean return current and its effect on global climate
submarine rivers
ocean's conveyor belt
affected by salinity of surface waters near Greenland, lower salinity means lower
density and less likely to sink, the end of the world is nigh
geologic
o mantle convection drives plate tectonics
o outer core convection (along with charge separation) generates earth's magnetic field
solar
o core where the action takes place
o radiative zone the sun is a good enough conductor (high density, high conductivity) that
energy flows by radiation (why not conduction?)
o convection zone
o photosphere convection cells show up as granules (granule implies small, but small is a
relative word)
o corona material is thrown out gradually in the solar wind or explosively in solar
prominences or coronal mass ejections
Convection is the transfer of heat by the flow of a fluid.
Spontaneous convection
o is caused by the buoyancy differences between
warmer, less dense fluid and
cooler, more dense fluid
o is also caused by differences in surface tension between
hotter regions with less surface tension and
cooler regions with more surface tension
o can be summarized in two simple rules
hot fluid rises
cold fluid sinks
o will result in the formation of closed loops of circulating fluid called convection cells
Forced convection
o is aided by fans, blowers, impellers, lungpower, etc.
o is described by newton's law of cooling

P =
dQ
= hA (T T
0
)
dt

o where
o P = dQ/dt is rate at which heat is transferred
h = convection heat-transfer coefficient (or film coefficient or film conductance)
A = exposed surface area
T = temperature of the immersed object
T
0
= temperature of convecting fluid
o heat-transfer coefficients are determined experimentally

Radiation
Heat radiation (as opposed to particle radiation) is the transfer of internal energy in the form of
electromagnetic waves. For most bodies on the earth, this radiation lies in the infrared region of the
electromagnetic spectrum.
Stefan-boltzmann law
One of the first to recognize that heat radiation is related to light was the English astronomer William Herschel,
who noticed in 1800 that if a thermometer was moved from one end of a prism produced spectrum to the
other, the highest temperatures would register below the red band, where no light was visible. Because of this
position, this form of radiation is called infrared (infra being the Latin word for below or within). Sometimes
this kind of radiation is called "heat waves" but this is a misnomer. Recall that heat is the transfer of internal
energy from one region to another. As all forms of electromagnetic radiation transfer internal energy, they
could be called heat.
Stefan-Boltzmann Law
P = A(T
4
T
0
4
)
where [sigma] is called Stefan's constant, which was discovered experimentally byJosef Stefan (1835-1893)
Austria in 1879 and [epsilon] is the emissivity.
=
2
5
k
4

=

2
k
4

= 5.67 10
8
W/m
2
K
4

15h
3
c
2
60
3
c
2

Disconnected thoughts that aren't quotes.
blackbody radiation, cavity radiator, the sun is a blackbody
For humans, the emissivity in the infrared region is independent of the color of the skin and is very
nearly equal to 1, indicating that the skin is almost a perfect absorber and emitter of radiation at this
wavelength. If we could see in the deep infrared emitted by the body we would all be nearly black.
Under normal conditions, about half our energy loss is through radiation, even if the surrounding
environment is not much lower than body temperature.
Thermos Flask, invented by James Dewar, Scotland. Coating the inside of an evacuated double walled,
glass bottle with a thin layer of silver reduced the heat loss by radiation by a factor of 13. Dewar
commissioned a German glass blower to make some, who discovered that milk for his baby stayed
warm in the flask overnight. He took the idea of the "Thermos Flasche" to a manufacturer.
A glass cake pan will require 20% less baking time than a shiny surfaced pan.

- Shiny and bright vs Dull and dark coloured
- Smooth vs Rough surfaces




Dark colors absorb more radiant energy than
do light colors. The burns on this woman's
skin mimic the pattern on her blouse. She was
exposed to a monstrous dose of
electromagnetic radiation from a nuclear
blast. (Source: Unknown)
Wien's displacement law
A more complete explanation of this law can be found in the section on Planck's law.

max
=
hc

1
k xT
where x is the solution of
xe
x

5 = 0
e
x
1
x = 4.96511
In shortened form

max
=
b
T
b = 2.898 mmK

Solar energy
The total global energy consumption of all the humans on the planet is about 1.4 10
13
W or about
one ten-thousandth the total energy from the sun incident on the earth. The energy use per area in
US metropolitan areas is roughly 2% of the incident solar energy.
3.827 10
26
W total solar luminosity
1368 W/m
2
solar constant (energy perpendicular to direction of propagation)
0.30 albedo (latin albus, white), surface 0.04, atmosphere 0.26
342 W/m
2
effective solar constant (averaged over time and surface)
Greenhouse effect
Global temperature and atmospheric carbon dioxide trends match. The very long graph made popular by Al
Gore in An Inconvenient Truth.
Plot one against the other. The relation is approximately linear. Al Gore never did this one.
Naturally occurring greenhouse gases whose concentrations are increasing due to human activities
CO
2
from burning forests and fossil fuels
CH
4
from rice paddies, cattle, termites (whose population is thought to have increased due to global
deforestation), oil fields, and pipeline leaks
N
2
O of agricultural origin
Other naturally occurring greenhouse gases of lesser concern.
Water is also a greenhouse gas, but its concentration in the atmosphere is affected by temperature
and is not directly affected by human activities.
Ozone is also a greenhouse gas but its greenhouse effects are not easily quantified
Greenhouse gases that do not occur naturally.
CFCs from from discarded or leaky refrigerators and air conditioners
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) do not exist naturally, but were invented in the 1930s by researchers at
General Motors looking to replace the toxic and corrosive refrigerants in use at the tine: ammonia
and sulfur dioxide. CFCs are also implicated in stratospheric ozone loss (the so called "hole" in the
ozone layer).
HFCs, hydrofluorocarbons
HCFCs, hydrocholofluorocarbons
PFCs, perfluorocarbons
Indirect greenhouse gases
carbon monoxide
hydrogen
Key infrared absorption bands in the atmosphere correspond to H
2
O, CO
2
, O
3