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Learning objectives

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

  • Discuss the method of heat transfer by convection.

The information presented in this section supports the following AP® learning objectives and science practices:

  • 5.B.6.1 The student is able to describe the models that represent processes by which energy can be transferred between a system and its environment because of differences in temperature: conduction, convection, and radiation. (S.P. 1.2)

Convection is driven by large-scale flow of matter. In the case of Earth, the atmospheric circulation is caused by the flow of hot air from the tropics to the poles, and the flow of cold air from the poles toward the tropics. (Note that Earth’s rotation causes the observed easterly flow of air in the northern hemisphere). Car engines are kept cool by the flow of water in the cooling system, with the water pump maintaining a flow of cool water to the pistons. The circulatory system is used the body: when the body overheats, the blood vessels in the skin expand (dilate), which increases the blood flow to the skin where it can be cooled by sweating. These vessels become smaller when it is cold outside and larger when it is hot (so more fluid flows, and more energy is transferred).

The body also loses a significant fraction of its heat through the breathing process.

While convection is usually more complicated than conduction, we can describe convection and do some straightforward, realistic calculations of its effects. Natural convection is driven by buoyant forces: hot air rises because density decreases as temperature increases. The house in [link] is kept warm in this manner, as is the pot of water on the stove in [link] . Ocean currents and large-scale atmospheric circulation transfer energy from one part of the globe to another. Both are examples of natural convection.

A cross section of a room is shown. There is a gravity furnace at the left side. The hot air from the furnace is rising up and is shown with the help of upward-pointing arrows along the left wall that are labeled hot air rises. The arrows then become horizontal and pass just under the ceiling to the right wall. The arrows then curve downward, become blue, and pass down the right wall and are labeled air cooled by room sinks. Finally, the blue arrows curve and pass along the floor to return to the gravity furnace.
Air heated by the so-called gravity furnace expands and rises, forming a convective loop that transfers energy to other parts of the room. As the air is cooled at the ceiling and outside walls, it contracts, eventually becoming denser than room air and sinking to the floor. A properly designed heating system using natural convection, like this one, can be quite efficient in uniformly heating a home.
The figure shows a stove burner on which is placed a pot containing water. The front of the pot is cut away to show the water. Two pairs of semicircular arrows are in the left and right regions of the water. The left pair indicates counterclockwise motion of the water on the left and the right pair indicate clockwise motion of the water on the right. Several bubbles are also shown.
Convection plays an important role in heat transfer inside this pot of water. Once conducted to the inside, heat transfer to other parts of the pot is mostly by convection. The hotter water expands, decreases in density, and rises to transfer heat to other regions of the water, while colder water sinks to the bottom. This process keeps repeating.

Take-home experiment: convection rolls in a heated pan

Take two small pots of water and use an eye dropper to place a drop of food coloring near the bottom of each. Leave one on a bench top and heat the other over a stovetop. Watch how the color spreads and how long it takes the color to reach the top. Watch how convective loops form.

Calculating heat transfer by convection: convection of air through the walls of a house

Most houses are not airtight: air goes in and out around doors and windows, through cracks and crevices, following wiring to switches and outlets, and so on. The air in a typical house is completely replaced in less than an hour. Suppose that a moderately-sized house has inside dimensions 12.0 m × 18.0 m × 3.00 m high, and that all air is replaced in 30.0 min. Calculate the heat transfer per unit time in watts needed to warm the incoming cold air by 10 . C size 12{"10" "." 0°C} {} , thus replacing the heat transferred by convection alone.

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Source:  OpenStax, College physics for ap® courses. OpenStax CNX. Nov 04, 2016 Download for free at https://legacy.cnx.org/content/col11844/1.14
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