Heat transfer

Advertisement

Heat can be transferred from one body to another or between a body and the
environment by three different means: conduction, convection and radiation.
Conduction is the transfer of energy through a solid material. Conduction between
bodies occurs when they are in direct contact, and molecules transfer their energy
across the interface.
Convection is the transfer of heat to or from a fluid medium. Molecules in a gas or liquid
in contact with a solid body transmit or absorb heat to or from that body and then
move away, allowing other molecules to move into place and repeat the process.
Efficiency can be improved by increasing the surface area to be heated or cooled, as
with a radiator, and by forcing the fluid to move over the surface, as with a fan.

Radiation is the emission of electromagnetic (EM) energy, particularly infrared photons

that carry heat energy. All matter emits and absorbs some EM radiation, the net
amount of which determines whether this causes a loss or gain in heat.
The Carnot cycle
In 1824, Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot proposed a model for a heat engine based on what
has come to be known as the Carnot cycle. The cycle exploits the relationships among
pressure, volume and temperature of gasses and how an input of energy can change
form and do work outside the system.
Compressing a gas increases its temperature so it becomes hotter than its environment.
Heat can then be removed from the hot gas using a heat exchanger. Then, allowing it to
expand causes it to cool. This is the basic principle behind heat pumps used for heating,
air conditioning and refrigeration.
Conversely, heating a gas increases its pressure, causing it to expand. The expansive
pressure can then be used to drive a piston, thus converting heat energy into kinetic
energy. This is the basic principle behind heat engines.