TEMPERATURE & HEAT

GEN PHYSICS 1- STEM

All matter—solid, liquid, and gas—is composed of continually
jiggling atoms or molecules. Because of this random motion, the
atoms and molecules in matter have kinetic energy. The average
kinetic energy of these individual particles causes an effect we
can sense—warmth.

Temperature and Heat

Temperature
• The quantity that tells how hot or cold something is compared
with a standard is temperature.
• A common thermometer measures temperature by showing the
expansion and contraction of a liquid in a glass tube using a
scale.

Temperature and Heat

Temperature
• Whenever something becomes warmer, the kinetic energy of its
atoms or molecules has increased. When the atoms or
molecules in matter move faster, the matter gets warmer. Its
atoms or molecules have more kinetic energy.
• The higher the temperature of a substance, the faster is the
motion of its molecules.

Temperature and Heat

Temperature
• Temperature is related to the random motions of the molecules
in a substance.
• The warmth you feel when you touch a hot surface is the kinetic
energy transferred by molecules in the surface to molecules in
your fingers.

Temperature and Heat

Temperature
• Temperature is not a measure of the total
kinetic energy of all the molecules in a
substance.

Temperature and Heat

Thermal Equilibrium
• After objects in thermal contact
with each other reach the same
temperature, we say the objects
are in thermal equilibrium.
• When a thermometer is in contact
with a substance, heat flows
between them until they have the
same temperature.
• When objects are in thermal
equilibrium, no heat flows
between them.

Temperature and Heat

Thermal Equilibrium
• To read a thermometer we wait until it reaches thermal
equilibrium with the substance being measured.
• The temperature of the thermometer is also the temperature of
the substance.
• A thermometer should be small enough that it does not
appreciably alter the temperature of the substance being
measured.

Temperature and Heat

Thermal Equilibrium
• Water seeks a common level with pressures at equal elevations
the same. The thermometer and its surroundings reach a
common temperature with the average kinetic energy per
particle the same.

Temperature and Heat

Thermal Equilibrium
Question:
Suppose you use a flame to add heat to 1 liter of water, and the
water temperature rises by 2°C. If you add the same quantity of
heat to 2 liters of water, by how much will its temperature rise?

Temperature and Heat

Thermal Equilibrium
Question:
Suppose you use a flame to add heat to 1
liter of water, and the water temperature
rises by 2°C. If you add the same quantity
of heat to 2 liters of water, by how much
will its temperature rise?
Answer:
Its temperature will rise by 1°C, because
there are twice as many molecules in 2
liters of water and each molecule receives
only half as much energy on average.

Temperature and Heat

 Fig. 3
• In fig. 3, two systems are said to be in
thermal equilibrium if there is no
heat flow between then when they
are brought into contact.
• Temperature is the indicator of
thermal equilibrium in the sense that
there is no net flow of heat between
two systems in thermal contact that
have the same temperature.

Temperature and Heat

The Zeroth Law Fig. 3

Two systems individually in thermal

equilibrium with a third system are in
thermal equilibrium with each other.

Temperature and Heat

Temperature Scales
Celsius Scale
The most widely used temperature scale is the Celsius scale.
• The number 0 is the temperature at which water freezes.
• The number 100 is the temperature at which water boils.
The gap between freezing and boiling is divided into 100 equal parts, called
degrees.

Temperature and Heat

Temperature Scales
Fahrenheit Scale
The temperature scale used commonly in the United States is the
Fahrenheit scale.
• The number 32 is the temperature at which water freezes.
• The number 212 is the temperature at which water boils.
• The Fahrenheit scale will become obsolete if and when the United
States goes metric.

Temperature and Heat

Temperature Scales
Kelvin Scale
Scientific research uses the SI scale—the Kelvin scale.
• Degrees are the same size as the Celsius degree
and are called “kelvins.”
• On the Kelvin scale, the number 0 is assigned to the
lowest possible temperature—absolute zero.
• At absolute zero a substance has no kinetic energy
to give up.
• Zero on the Kelvin scale corresponds to -273°C.

Temperature and Heat

Temperature Scales
Scale Conversion
• Arithmetic formulas can be used for converting from one temperature scale
to another.
• A conversion from Celsius to Fahrenheit, or vice versa, can be very closely
approximated by simply reading the corresponding temperature from side-
by-side scales.

Temperature and Heat

Temperature Scales
Scale Conversion (Fahrenheit -> Celsius)
To convert temperatures from Celsius to Fahrenheit, obtain the
actual Fahrenheit temperature , multiply the Celsius value by
and then add 32°.

= + 32°

Temperature and Heat

Temperature Scales
Scale Conversion (Celsius -> Fahrenheit)
Subtract 32° to get the number of Fahrenheit degrees above
freezing, and then multiply by to obtain the number of Celsius
degrees above freezing— that is, the Celsius temperature

= ( 32°)

Temperature and Heat

Temperature Scales
Scale Conversion (Celsius -> Kelvin)
Simply add 263.15 to the temperature value in Celsius to convert
to Kelvin.

= + 273.15

Temperature and Heat

Thermal Expansion
• Most forms of matter—solids, liquids, and gases—expand when
they are heated and contract when they are cooled.
• When the temperature of a substance is increased, its
molecules jiggle faster and normally tend to move farther apart.

Temperature and Heat

Thermal Expansion
This results in an expansion of the substance.
• Gases generally expand or contract much more than liquids.
• Liquids generally expand or contract more than solids.

Temperature and Heat

Thermal Expansion
Linear Expansion
• Suppose a rod of material has a length at some initial
temperature
• When the temperature changes by the length changes by

• characterizes a proportionality constant (which is different for

different materials)

Temperature and Heat

Thermal Expansion
Table 1: Coefficients of Linear Expansion

Temperature and Heat

Thermal Expansion
Volume Expansion
• Increasing temperature usually causes increases in volume for
both solid and liquid materials.
• The increase in volume is approximately proportional to both
the temperature change and the initial volume .

Temperature and Heat

Thermal Expansion
Table 2: Coefficients of Volume Expansion

Temperature and Heat

Thermal Expansion
Linear Expansion

Temperature and Heat

Thermal Expansion
Linear Expansion

Temperature Change
a)

Temperature and Heat

Thermal Expansion
Linear Expansion

a)

b)

Temperature and Heat

Thermal Expansion
Volume Expansion

Temperature and Heat

Thermal Expansion
Volume Expansion

Temperature Change

a)

Temperature and Heat

Heat
• The energy that transfers from one object to another because of
a temperature difference between them is called heat.
• Heat is energy in transit, moving from a body of higher
temperature to one of lower temperature.
• The direction of spontaneous energy transfer is always from a
warmer to a cooler substance.

Temperature and Heat

Heat
• When two substances of different temperatures are in thermal
contact, heat flows from the higher-temperature substance into
the lower-temperature substance.

Temperature and Heat

Heat
• If you touch a hot stove, energy enters your hand from the stove
because the stove is warmer than your hand.
• If you touch ice, energy passes from your hand into the colder
ice.

Temperature and Heat

Heat
• Heat will not necessarily flow from a substance with more total
molecular kinetic energy to a substance with less.
• Heat flows according to temperature differences—that is,
average molecular kinetic energy differences.
• Heat never flows on its own from a cooler substance into a
hotter substance.

Temperature and Heat

Heat
• Just as water will not flow uphill
by itself, regardless of the
relative amounts of water in the
reservoirs, heat will not flow from
a cooler substance into a hotter
substance by itself.

Temperature and Heat

Heat Capacity
• Specific heat capacity of a substance is its capacity to store
heat depending on its chemical composition.

Temperature and Heat

Heat Capacity
• The specific heat capacity of a material is the quantity of heat
required to raise the temperature of 1 gram by 1 degree.
• A material requires a specific amount of heat to raise the temperature
of a given mass a specified number of degrees.

Temperature and Heat

Heat Capacity
Table 3: Specific Heat Capacities

Temperature and Heat

Methods of Heat Transfer
Conduction
• Conduction of heat is the transfer of energy within materials and
between different materials that are in direct contact.
• In conduction, collisions between particles transfer thermal energy,
without any overall transfer of matter.

Temperature and Heat

Methods of Heat Transfer
Conduction
• Conduction of heat is the transfer of energy within materials and
between different materials that are in direct contact.
• In conduction, collisions between particles transfer thermal energy,
without any overall transfer of matter.

Temperature and Heat

Methods of Heat Transfer
Conduction
Conduction is explained by collisions between atoms or molecules, and
the actions of loosely bound electrons.
• When the end of an iron rod is held in a flame, the atoms at the
heated end vibrate more rapidly.
• These atoms vibrate against neighboring atoms.
• Free electrons that can drift through the metal jostle and transfer
energy by colliding with atoms and other electrons.

Temperature and Heat

Methods of Heat Transfer
Conduction
• Materials composed of atoms with “loose” outer electrons
are good conductors of heat (and electricity also).
• Because metals have the “loosest” outer electrons, they are
the best conductors of heat and electricity.

Temperature and Heat

Methods of Heat Transfer
Conduction
• The tile floor feels cold to the
bare feet, while the carpet at the
same temperature feels warm.
This is because tile is a better
conductor than carpet.

Temperature and Heat

Methods of Heat Transfer
Conduction
An insulator is any material that is a poor conductor of heat and that
delays the transfer of heat.
• Air is a very good insulator.
• Porous materials having many small air spaces are good insulators.
• Liquids and gases generally make poor conductors.

Temperature and Heat

Methods of Heat Transfer
Conduction
• Strictly speaking, there is no “cold” that passes through a
conductor or an insulator.
• Only heat is transferred. We don’t insulate a home to keep
the cold out; we insulate to keep the heat in.
• No insulator can totally prevent heat from getting through it.
Insulation slows down heat transfer.

Temperature and Heat

Methods of Heat Transfer
Conduction
Question!
If you hold one end of a metal bar against a piece of ice, the
end in your hand will soon become cold. Does cold flow from
the ice to your hand?

Temperature and Heat

Methods of Heat Transfer
Conduction
Question!
If you hold one end of a metal bar against a piece of ice, the end in
your hand will soon become cold. Does cold flow from the ice to your
hand?
Answer:
Cold does not flow from the ice to your hand. Heat flows from your
hand to the ice. The metal is cold to your touch because you are
transferring heat to the metal.

Temperature and Heat

Methods of Heat Transfer
Convection
• Convection, is a means of heat transfer by
movement of the heated substance itself, such as
by currents in a fluid.
Essentially, some examples of convection are as
follows:
• Air in contact with a hot stove rises and warms
the region above.
• Water heated in a boiler in the basement rises to
warm the radiators in the upper floors.

Temperature and Heat

Methods of Heat Transfer
Convection
• Convection occurs in all fluids, liquid or gas.
• When the fluid is heated, it expands, becomes
less dense, and rises.
• Cooler fluid then moves to the bottom, and
the process continues.
• In this way, convection currents keep a fluid
stirred up as it heats.

Temperature and Heat

Methods of Heat Transfer
Convection occurs in all fluids:
• Convection currents transfer heat in air.
• Convection currents transfer heat in liquid.

Temperature and Heat

Methods of Heat Transfer
Convection
When the test tube is heated at
the top, convection is prevented
and heat can reach the ice by
conduction only.
Since water is a poor conductor,
the top water will boil without
melting the ice.

Temperature and Heat

Methods of Heat Transfer
Convection
Think of molecules of air as tiny balls bouncing against one another.
• Speed is picked up by a ball when it is hit by another that
approaches with a greater speed.
• When a ball collides with one that is receding, its rebound speed is
reduced.

Temperature and Heat

Methods of Heat Transfer
Convection
Molecules in a region of expanding air collide more often with
receding molecules than with approaching ones.

Temperature and Heat

Methods of Heat Transfer
Radiation
• How does the sun warm Earth’s
surface?
• It can’t be through conduction or
convection, because there is
nothing between Earth and the
sun.
• The sun’s heat is transmitted by
another process.
Temperature and Heat
Methods of Heat Transfer
Radiation

• Radiation is energy transmitted by electromagnetic waves.

• The energy transmitted by radiation is called Radiant energy.

Temperature and Heat

Methods of Heat Transfer
Radiation

Most of the heat from a fireplace goes up the chimney by

convection. The heat that warms us comes to us by radiation.

Temperature and Heat

Methods of Heat Transfer
Radiation

• Objects at low temperatures emit long waves. Higher-

temperature objects emit waves of shorter wavelengths.
• Objects around you emit radiation mostly in the long-
wavelength end of the infrared region, between radio and
light waves.

Temperature and Heat

Methods of Heat Transfer
Radiation

In thermometer readings, the average frequency of radiant

energy is directly proportional to the Kelvin temperature T of
the emitter:

And so, the typical infrared thermometer operate in the

ranges between -30°C to 200°C.

Temperature and Heat

Methods of Heat Transfer
Radiation

• If everything is emitting energy, why doesn’t everything

finally run out of it?
• Everything also absorbs energy from its environment.

Temperature and Heat

Methods of Heat Transfer
Radiation
Absorption and reflection are opposite processes.
• A good absorber of radiant energy reflects very little radiant
energy, including the range of radiant energy we call light.
• A good absorber therefore appears dark.
• A perfect absorber reflects no radiant energy and appears
perfectly black.

Temperature and Heat