Thermal conduction

Learning objectives

To illustrate the propagation of thermal energy (heat) from person to person;
To understand that this mode of thermal transmission takes place without the transport of matter;
To Introduce thermal conductivity and the concept of thermal insulation.

Conduction is one of the types of thermal transfer that enable heat to travel from a hot object to a cold one.

Conduction differs from convection because, in conduction, there is no transfer of matter. Heat, which is a form of energy, can be interpreted as the agitation of the atoms in matter.

Thermal conduction involves the propagation, by contact, of this agitation, and so of heat. The average position of nuclei remains the same. This is therefore the principal mode of transfer in solids.