What is conduction?

What is conduction?

• A. The transfer of heat in a moving fluid.
• B. The transition of heat through a vacuum.
• C. When two solid bodies are in contact, heat will flow from warmer body to the cooler body.
• D. Heat transfer via radiation only.

Answer: (C)

Conduction is heat transfer through direct contact, driven by a temperature difference and carried by molecular interactions (and free electrons in metals) that transfer energy from the hotter region to the cooler region. When two solid bodies touch, energy flows from the warmer body to the cooler one through these interactions. This is distinct from convection, which involves the bulk movement of a fluid, and from radiation, which transfers heat via electromagnetic waves through space. So the description that heat will flow from the warmer solid to the cooler solid in contact best captures conduction.

Conduction is heat transfer through direct contact, driven by a temperature difference and carried by molecular interactions (and free electrons in metals) that transfer energy from the hotter region to the cooler region. When two solid bodies touch, energy flows from the warmer body to the cooler one through these interactions. This is distinct from convection, which involves the bulk movement of a fluid, and from radiation, which transfers heat via electromagnetic waves through space. So the description that heat will flow from the warmer solid to the cooler solid in contact best captures conduction.