1. Heat and Thermodynamics
Section 2
Heat and
Thermodynamics

2. Key Concepts
Why is conduction slower in gases than in liquids or solids?
In what natural cycles do convection currents occur?
How does an object’s temperature affect radiation?
What are the three laws of thermodynamics?

3. Conduction
Conduction is the transfer of thermal energy with no overall transfer of matter.
Conduction occurs within a material or between materials that are touching.
Conduction in gases is slower than in liquids and solids because the particles in a gas collide less often.
Conduction is the transfer of thermal energy without transferring matter. This device, called Newton’s cradle, helps to visualize conduction. After one ball strikes the rest, most of the kinetic energy is transferred to one ball on the end.

4. Thermal Conductors
A thermal conductor is a material that conducts thermal energy well.
A wire rack in a hot oven can burn you because the metal conducts thermal energy so quickly. Pots and pans often are made of copper or aluminum because these are good conductors.
The arrows show how
thermal energy is conducted away
from the heat source in a metal
frying pan

5. Thermal Insulators Why is it safe to pick up the wooden spoon
Wood heats up slowly because it is a poor conductor of thermal energy
A material that conducts thermal energy poorly is called a thermal insulator.

6. Convection
Convection is the transfer of thermal energy when particles of a fluid or gas move from one place to another.
A convection current occurs when a fluid circulates in a loop as it alternately heats up and cools down.
Convection currents are important in many natural cycles, such as ocean currents, weather systems, and movements of hot rock in Earth’s interior.
The arrows show convection
of air in an oven.

7. Radiation
Radiation is the transfer of energy by waves moving through space.
All objects radiate energy. As an object’s temperature increases, the rate at which it radiates energy increases.
A heating coil on a
stove radiates thermal energy.
The changing color of the red
arrows indicates that the farther
you are from the coil, the less
radiation you receive.

8. Thermodynamics
The study of conversions between thermal energy and other forms of energy is called thermodynamics.

9. First Law of Thermodynamics
The first law of thermodynamics states that energy is conserved.

10. Second Law of Thermodynamics
The second law of thermodynamics states that thermal energy can flow from colder objects to hotter objects only if work is done on the system.
You can consider the bicycle pump, the
tire, and the air inside of both to be a system. The person does work on the system by pushing on the pump. Some of the work is converted into thermal energy, which heats the air in the pump and the tire.

11. Third Law of Thermodynamics
The third law of thermodynamics states that absolute zero cannot be reached.
The third law of
thermodynamics states that
absolute zero cannot be reached.
This physicist is adjusting a laser
used to cool rubidium atoms to
3 billionths of a Kelvin above
absolute zero. This record low
temperature was produced
by a team of scientists at the
National Institute of Standards
and Technology.

12. Reviewing Concepts
1. Why is conduction in gases slower than conduction in liquids or solids?
2. Give three examples of convection currents that occur in natural cycles.
3. What happens to radiation from an object as its temperature increases?
4. State the first law of thermodynamics.
5. In your own words, what is the second law of thermodynamics?
6. State the third law of thermodynamics.
7. Why does a metal spoon feel colder than a wooden spoon at room temperature?
8. Why is solar energy transferred to Earth by radiation?