Thermal Energy

What is Thermal Energy?

Remember how in the particle theory of matter, the particles are all vibrating or
moving around? Well, this movement gives the particles a type of energy – called
thermal energy

How much energy there is depends on how fast the particles are moving. The more
thermal energy the particles in a substance have, the higher the temperature of the
substance.

Changes of state

In a solid, the particle are vibrating – there is a small amount of thermal energy. If
more thermal energy is added – the solid is warmed up – then the particles start to
vibrate more and the temperature increases.

If enough energy is added, some of the particles start to break away from their
fixed positions, and the solid becomes a liquid. This is called melting.

Adding even more energy to a liquid will cause them to move around so much
they break apart completely, turning the liquid into a gas. This is called boiling.
If you remove energy, the particles slow down and the bonds between particles
form again. Cooling a gas into a liquid is called condensation. Cooling a liquid into
a solid is called freezing.