Heat transfer physics

<p>Heat transfer physics describes the kinetics of <a href="/facts/Energy_storage/9GWtAPeb">energy storage</a>, transport, and <a href="/facts/Energy_transformation/8g4seWcj">energy transformation</a> by principal <a href="/facts/Energy_carrier/qJIQbprn">energy carriers</a>: <a href="/facts/Phonon/tflWW6vw">phonons</a> (lattice vibration waves), <a href="/facts/Electron/L0KBo5cW">electrons</a>, <a href="/facts/Maxwell%E2%80%93Boltzmann_distribution/KAuVfdKJ">fluid particles</a>, and <a href="/facts/Photon/mFNhAEzA">photons</a>. Heat is <a href="/facts/Thermal_energy/eVaKAC7K">thermal energy</a> stored in temperature-dependent <a href="/facts/Motion_(physics)/dCnP7MlB">motion</a> of particles including electrons, atomic nuclei, individual atoms, and molecules. Heat is transferred to and from matter by the principal energy carriers. The state of energy stored within matter, or transported by the carriers, is described by a combination of classical and <a href="/facts/Quantum_statistical_mechanics/oeD8Gp2R">quantum statistical mechanics</a>. The energy is different made (converted) among various carriers.
The <a href="/facts/Heat_transfer/1IV3WbFL">heat transfer</a> processes (or kinetics) are governed by the rates at which various related physical phenomena occur, such as (for example) the rate of particle collisions in <a href="/facts/Classical_mechanics/ykG8upsN">classical mechanics</a>. These various states and kinetics determine the heat transfer, i.e., the net rate of energy storage or transport. Governing these process from the atomic level (atom or molecule length scale) to macroscale are the <a href="/facts/Laws_of_thermodynamics/ohfElNfe">laws of thermodynamics</a>, including <a href="/facts/Conservation_of_energy/12CdN4Ik">conservation of energy</a>.
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Heat transfer physics open-in-new

Heat transfer physics