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Conduction Notes For Secondary School

Conduction is the transfer of thermal energy through direct contact of particles in solids. Metals are good conductors as their delocalized electrons can transfer vibrations. Poor conductors are called insulators. Convection occurs in liquids and gases through expansion and rising of hotter, less dense parts which creates convection currents. Radiation transfers heat through electromagnetic waves and can travel through a vacuum. Black surfaces are good emitters and absorbers of radiation while shiny surfaces reflect it.

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44 views4 pages

Conduction Notes For Secondary School

Conduction is the transfer of thermal energy through direct contact of particles in solids. Metals are good conductors as their delocalized electrons can transfer vibrations. Poor conductors are called insulators. Convection occurs in liquids and gases through expansion and rising of hotter, less dense parts which creates convection currents. Radiation transfers heat through electromagnetic waves and can travel through a vacuum. Black surfaces are good emitters and absorbers of radiation while shiny surfaces reflect it.

Uploaded by

Mr_superb
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Conduction

Conduction is the main method of thermal energy transfer in solids.

 Metals are extremely good at conducting heat.


 Non-metals are poor at conducting heat, whilst liquids and gases are extremely
poor.
 Poor conductors are called insulators.
 Materials containing small pockets of trapped air are especially good at insulating,
as air is a gas and hence a poor conductor.

How it happens
When a substance is heated, the atoms start to move around (vibrate) more.
As they do so they bump into each other, transferring energy from atom to atom.

Conduction: the atoms in a substance vibrate and bump into each other. Vibrations
are therefore transferred to other atoms and this increases their kinetic energy (or
heat) which is indicated by their temperature.

Metals are especially good at conducting heat as the delocalised electrons can
collide with the atoms, helping to transfer the vibrations through the material.

Demonstrating Conduction
The setup below is a simple experiment to demonstrate the relative conducting
properties of different materials.

Diagram

Four different metal strips of equal width and length arrange around an insulated
circle. Ball bearings are be stuck to each of the strips, an equal distance from the
centre, using a small amount of wax. The centre heated gently using a candle, so
that each of the strips is heated at the point where they meet.
When the heat is conducted along to the ball bearing, the wax will melt and the ball
bearing will drop. By timing how long this takes for each of the strips, their relative
thermal conductivities can be determined.
Convection
Convection is the main way that heat travels through liquids and gases. It does not
happen in solids.

When a liquid (or gas) is heated:


The molecules push each other apart, making the liquid/gas expand. This makes the
hot liquid/gas less dense than the surroundings. The hot liquid/gas rises, and the
cooler (surrounding) liquid/gas moves in to take its place. Eventually the hot
liquid/gas cools, contracts and sinks back down again resulting in a convection
current.

Demonstrating Convection
diagram

A simple demonstration of convection in liquids involves taking a beaker of water


and placing a few crystals of potassium permanganate in it, to one side, as shown
in the diagram above.
When the water is heated at that side, the potassium permanganate will dissolve in
the heated water and rise along with the warmed water, revealing the convection
current.

Radiation
All hot objects give off thermal radiation: the hotter they are, the more they emit.
Thermal radiation is part of the electromagnetic spectrum. It is called infrared. It
is the only way in which heat can travel through a vacuum. Heat from the sun
reaches earth through infrared radiation.

The colour of an object affects how good it is at emitting and absorbing thermal
radiation:
 Black objects are very good at absorbing thermal radiation but are also very good at
emitting it.
 Shiny objects reflect thermal radiation and so absorb very little. However, they also
emit very little and so take longer to cool down.

Factors Affecting Emission of Radiation


The amount of thermal radiation emitted by an object depends on a number of
factors:
The temperature of the object (hotter = more radiation).
The colour of the object (black = more radiation).
The surface area of the object (greater surface area = more area for radiation
to be emitted from).

Demonstrating Radiation
To demonstrate the absorption of thermal radiation:
Take two conical flasks – one painted with silver paint, the other with black paint –
and place thermometers and bungs in them.
Measure and record their initial temperatures.
Place the two flasks an equal distance from an incandescent light bulb (a good
source of radiation) and switch the bulb on.
After a few minutes switch the bulb off and record the new temperatures of the
flasks
(The black flask’s temperature should have increased by more).

To demonstrate the emission of thermal radiation:


Fill the shiny flasks with boiling water.
Once each flask reaches a set temperature (e.g. 90 °c) start a stopwatch and allow
it to cool for a set amount of time (e.g. 10 minutes). After this time, take a new
temperature measurement and record the change in temperature.
The black beaker should have cooled by slightly more than the shiny beaker,
because it emitted more thermal radiation.

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