Unit 5.

0 - THE NATURE OF HEAT

Heat is a form of energy, in the form of infrared radiation.
Heat from the sun travels through space at the speed of
300,000,000 m/s. Upon arriving on earth, much of the radiant
heat is absorbed by different kinds of matter and is converted
into heat that we can feel (sensible heat).

HEAT AND THE MOTION OF MOLECULES

According to the kinetic theory, heat energy acquired by a body
is transformed into increased kinetic energy of the molecules.
We observe this increased kinetic energy whenever a solid, a
liquid, or a gas expands on heating. A further increase in
kinetic energy will eventually cause the particles of a solid or
liquid to become a gas.
When an ice cube (a solid) is heated, it melts and becomes
liquid water. When the water is heated, it vaporizes and
becomes gaseous water.
When an object is heated it grows bigger. We say it expands.
When an object cools down, it gets smaller. We say it
contracts.

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EXPANSION OF SOLIDS
The metal ball shown in the diagram
will just slip through the metal ring
when they are both cold. When the
ball is heated the ball will no longer
pass through the ring.

iron
iron

brass

brass

materials expand more than others.

A bi-metallic strip is made

of two different metal
strips, often brass and
iron. On heating the bimetallic
strip
bends
because brass expands
more than iron. This
shows
that
some

The increase in size of the ball or in the length of the strip is

not due to an increase in the size of the particles, but rather to
an increase in the average distance between the particles.
When an object is heated, its particles vibrate faster, collide
more violently, and consequently move farther apart, thereby
increasing the volume of the object. This increase in volume is
called expansion.
When the object is cooled, the opposite change occurs and the
volume of the object decreases. This decrease in volume is
called contraction. Different solids and liquids expand at
different rates when heated.

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EXPANSION OF LIQUIDS
When a fluid (liquid or gas) is heated, it
expands.
Liquids expand more than solids.
Gases expand more than liquids.
Liquids, like solids, expand when
heated. When water is heated, it
expands. When the same water is
cooled to its original temperature, the
water contracts to its original volume. At lower temperatures,
however, the behaviour of water is an exception to this rule.
When water is cooled below 4 C, the water expands-unlike
other liquids. Since the volume of ice is greater than the
volume of water from which the ice is formed, the density of
ice is less than the density of water. This is why ice floats on
water.
EXPANSION OF GASES
Gases confined in an elastic container
expand when they are heated and
contract when they are cooled. Gases,
generally expand at the same rate when
heated to the same temperature, at a
given pressure.

When a gas is heated, the atoms start moving more and so

they take up more space. The substance expands.

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TEMPERATURE
Heat and temperature are two terms that are often confused.
We know that the temperature of a small sample of molten iron
is considerably higher that the temperature of the water in the
ocean. However, the total heat in a sample of molten iron is
much less than the total heat of the water in the ocean.
Heat is related to the motions of particles in matter. Heat
depends on the total kinetic energy of the particles in a body.
Because the water in the ocean is colder than the sample of
molten iron, the velocity of the particles in the water is less
than the velocity of the particles in the molten iron. However,
the much larger quantity of water compensates for the smaller
velocity of the particles and thus the particles of water in the
ocean possess greater kinetic energy. This means that there is
more heat in the water in the ocean than in a small sample of
molten iron.
Temperature depends on the average kinetic energy of the
particles, that is, the kinetic energy per particle. So the large
mass of ocean water has a smaller average kinetic energy per
particle and consequently has a lower temperature than a small
sample of molten iron.
MEASURING TEMPERATURE

Instruments designed to measure temperature are

called thermometers. Most thermometers are based on the
principle that matter, on heating, expands and, on cooling,
contracts. In general, matter expands and contacts regularly.
This means that the amount of expansion or contraction in
length is generally equal for the same increase or decrease in
temperature.

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LIQUID THERMOMETERS
Thermometers containing liquids such as mercury and alcohol
are useful and accurate because these liquids usually expand
and contract uniformly (regularly).
THE FAHRENHEIT AND CELSIUS TEMPERATURE SCALES
Temperature markings on thermometers are indicated in
Fahrenheit degrees or Celsius degrees. Both Fahrenheit and
Celsius scales are calibrated by using the boiling and freezing
points of water. The temperature of our bodies is 37oC. This is
equivalent to 98.6o on the Fahrenheit scale.
THE KELVIN SCALE
When an object cools down, the molecules vibrate more slowly.
At a certain temperature, the molecules loose all their energy
and stop vibrating. This is the lowest temperature we can reach
and is known as ABSOLUTE ZERO.
Absolute zero, -273C, is also called 0 Kelvin

TRANSFER of HEAT
When objects are at different temperatures, heat is transferred
from the warmer object to the cooler object until both objects
are at the same temperature. Heat transfer can occur through
one of three methods:

Conduction,
Convection, or
Radiation.

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CONDUCTION
When one end of a metal rod is
held in a flame, the entire rod will
become hot enough to burn the
hand. The heat from the flame
reaches the hand by travelling
through the rod. Substances that
allow heat to travel through them
are called conductors. In general
metals are good conductors.
However, some metals conduct
heat more readily than others.
This can be demonstrated by
heating rods of aluminium, copper,
iron and glass into a brass sphere
or disk and then attaching a small
ball of wax to the end of each rod.
When the end of the rods is
heated, the wax at the tip of each
metal melts in the order in which
the different metals conduct heat.
The wax at the tip of the copper
melts first and the wax at the tip of the glass melts last.
When one end of a rod is heated, the molecules in that end of
the rod vibrate faster and strike other nearby molecules,
causing them to vibrate faster. In this manner, the increased
molecular motion is transferred from one end of the rod to the
other, permitting the heat to travel through the rod.
Substances that do not readily allow heat to pass through
them are called insulators. Gases and liquids are
generally poor conductors of heat because their molecules
are farther apart than are the molecules in solids. Therefore,
neighbouring molecules in a gas or in a liquid are less affected
by the increased motions of heated molecules, and
consequently heat is not conducted rapidly.

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Substances like wood or plastic are poor conductors of heat,

so they are used to make handles for metallic objects that are
to be heated. The clothing we wear is also a poor conductor of
heat, enabling us to retain body warmth. Porous material is
generally non-conducting because it contains layers of trapped
air which do not permit heat transfer.

CONVECTION
Although gases and
liquids are poor conductors
of heat, heat is transferred
through them by the
process of convection.
Convection is the transfer
of heat due to the motion
of the liquid or gas itself.
For example, when a
beaker of water is heated the water layer closest to the heat
source is warmed slowly by
conduction.
As the water becomes warmer, it
expands, becomes less dense, and
rises. This brings heat to the upper
layer. At the same time, cooler
water from the upper portion of the
beaker moves down, takes the
place of the rising water, and
becomes heated itself.
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When warm enough, this water rises and carries heat upward.
As these processes continue, heat that enters the bottom of
the beaker is distributed throughout the beaker until all the
water is at the same temperature. The moving water in such a
case is said to have set up convection current.
Heat is also transferred through gases by convection. It is by
this means, in part, that a stove or a radiator heats a room.
Heat from the radiator warms the air above it, causing the air
to expand, become less dense, and rise. The cooler air that
moves in to take the place of the warmed air is also soon
warmed. As this air rises, a convection current is established.
The formation of a convection current in air is demonstrated
with a convection box apparatus. First the candle is lighted,
then smoking touch paper is placed over the chimney, opposite
the candle. The smoke can be seen to move down this
chimney, across the box, and out through the other chimney.

SEA BREEZE
During the day, the land
warms up more than the sea.
The warm air over the land
rises up. The hot air is
replaced by cooler and
denser air which comes from
above the sea. So during the
day we feel a sea breeze - wind blowing from the sea onto the
land.

LAND BREEZE
During the night the sea has
more heat to lose and cools
more slowly. The air above
the sea is now warmer than
that above the land. Thus
hot air above the sea rises upwards, and is replaced by cooler
air from above the land. During the night we feel a land breeze
- wind blowing from the land onto the sea
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RADIATION
We know that light energy and
heat energy travel from the sun
to the earth through space,
which is an almost perfect
vacuum. These forms of energy,
are transferred from the sun to
the earth by radiation, that is, by
means of rays, or waves. You
can understand this method of
heat transfer by standing a short
distance from an open fire. Since
no source of heat is being touched, you cannot receive
heat by conduction. Since warm air rises vertically from
the heat source, the heat cannot reach you by convection.
The heat that is transferred to you from the fire by
radiation.
The heat radiated by
one body ( the sun, for
example) is most rapidly
absorbed by other
bodies that are black in
color and rough in
texture.
In warm climates, white clothing which reflects the radiant
heat of the sun is cooler than dark clothing which quickly
absorbs the radiant heat.
Similarly, bodies that are rough and dark tend to
radiate heat better than shiny smooth bodies. This is
why steam radiators are often dark and have a roughened
surface. It is for the same reason that coal burning stoves
are black.
Bodies that are shiny and smooth do not absorb
heat readily. Instead, these bodies reflect heat.

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Thus, aluminium used for roofing keeps homes cool in the

summer and warm in the winter.
This principle is utilized in the
thermos (vacuum) bottle, which
is so constructed as to permit
liquids
to
retain
their
temperatures for a long time. A
thermos bottle is double walled,
with a partial vacuum between
the walls to prevent heat
transfer
by
conduction or
convection. A cork stopper also
prevents heat transfer
by
conduction. The inner glass
walls are silvered to reflect
radiant heat back into the
liquid, thereby minimizing heat loss by radiation. Thus, a
hot liquid remains hot because heat is lost very slowly. A
cold liquid remains cold in thermos bottles because
outside heat enters very slowly by conduction, convection,
or radiation.
THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT.

The
inside
of
a
greenhouse is warmer
than the outside. This is
due to the fact that the
rays coming from the sun
have a short wavelength
which can get through the
glass. These rays are
absorbed by the plants
which get warmer. The
plant does not get very
hot, and the radiation it
emits is of a longer
wavelength which cannot pass through the glass. Thus
energy is radiated in, but cannot radiate out again.

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Evaporation:
When we put some deodorant or
some perfume on our hands, it feels
cold. This is because the liquid uses
heat from our bodies to change into
a gas. The deodorant/perfume has
evaporated. Also when we run our
body sweats to keep us cool.
Similarly, when we wash our
clothes, we hang them outside to
dry up. The sun warms the clothes
up and the water molecules get
enough energy to escape into the
air. In this case the water
evaporates and becomes a gas
called water vapour.
MEASURING HEAT
We measure the quantity of heat by a unit called the
Joule. The Joule is the amount of heat needed to raise
the temperature of 1 kilogram of water 1 degree Celsius.
CALORIES AND FOOD
Your body requires energy in order to perform its daily
tasks. Most of this energy comes from energy-rich foods
such as carbohydrates and fats. This energy is released
when the body utilizes these foods. Using special calorimeters, scientists have measured the energy content, or
the number of calories present, in fixed quantities of
certain foods. For example, a slice of white bread contains
about 60 000 calories; a typical chocolate bar may contain
about 300 000 calories.

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Specific Heat Capacity

Different materials have different specific heat capacities.
We can find the specific heat capacity of a substance
using:

Q = mc

Q
m
c
]

= heat energy received/given out [ in Joules ]

= mass of substance
[ in kg ]
= specific heat capacity
[ in J/kgoC or J/kgK
= change in temperature

[ in oC ]

The specific heat capacity of a

substance is the amount of
energy (in Joules) that is
needed
to
raise
the
temperature of 1kg of a
substance by 1oC .
Different substances require
different amounts of heat to
cause the same temperature
change in the same mass. The
thirst of a substance for heat
is measured by its specific heat capacity (symbol c).
The ability of water to stabilize temperature depends on
its relatively high specific heat. The specific heat of water
is 4200 J/kg C .Compared with most other substances;
water has an unusually high specific heat.
Because of its high specific heat, the water that covers
most of planet Earth keeps temperature fluctuations
within limits that permit life. Also, because organisms are
made primarily of water, they are more able to resist
changes in their own temperatures.

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