3.2.27

Convection & Radiation

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Convection and Radiation

Two other methods of heat transfer are convection and raditation.

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Convection

  • Convection occurs in fluids
  • Fluids can be liquids or gases
  • Particles in fluids are able to move unlike in solids
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Examples of convection

  • Examples of convection include flying a hot air balloon and a radiator heating your bedroom.
  • Sea breezes are also examples of convection currents. During the day the breeze will often go from the sea to the land and in the evening the breeze will often blow in the opposite direction.
    • Heat always moves from hot to cold.
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Convection experiments

  • You can see convection currents in liquids if you put a small amount of potassium permanganate in a water and gently heat one corner. The potassium permanganate is coloured and you can see it move around the tank.
  • A mobile above a Bunsen burner will spin because the heat from the Bunsen will transfer energy to the air particles above the heat source
    • These particles will move more, expand and so become less dense. The less dense air will rise above the denser air. The gap formed is replaced by cooler air. This spins the mobile.
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Radiation

  • Heat can be transferred by radiation (infrared radiation)
  • Infrared radiation is part of the electromagnetic spectrum
  • No particles are needed unlike convection or conduction
  • Radiation can travel through a vacuum
  • It takes around 8 minutes for infrared radiation to leave the sun to reach the Earth’s surface
    • The distance from the Earth to the sun is 1 Astronomical Unit (150 million km)

Jump to other topics

1Biology

1.1Cells, Tissues & Organs

1.2Reproduction & Variation

1.3Ecological Relationships & Classification

1.4Digestion & Nutrition

1.5Plants & Photosynthesis

1.6Biological Systems & Processes

2Chemistry

2.1Particles

2.2Chemical Reactions

2.3Atoms, Elements, Compounds

2.4The Periodic Table

2.5Materials & the Earth

2.6Reactivity

2.7Energetics

2.8Properties of Materials

3Physics

3.1Energy

3.2Forces & Motion

3.3Waves

3.4Electricity & Magnetism

3.5Matter

3.6Space Physics

4Thinking Scientifically

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