Modes of Heat Transfer

Syllabus tag: KCSE | Physics | Form 1 | Topic 7 Modes of Heat Transfer

Lesson objectives

By the end of this topic, you should be able to:

• Describe conduction, convection and radiation and how each occurs.
• Describe experiments demonstrating each mode.
• State the factors affecting the rate of each mode.
• Explain the working of a vacuum flask and other applications.

Summary

Heat travels in three ways. Conduction passes heat through a material without the material moving, and requires a medium. Convection carries heat by the actual movement of the fluid itself, so it occurs only in liquids and gases. Radiation travels as electromagnetic waves and needs no medium at all — which is how the Sun's heat reaches us.