Modes of Heat Transfer

Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Nikki who loved to play outside in the sun. One day, she noticed that the ground was hot and she wondered why.

Her father explained to her that the sun was shining down on the ground and making it hot. This is called radiation.

Nikki’s father then told her that when she touched the ground with her hand, the heat from the ground moved into her hand. This is called conduction.

Finally, Nikki’s father told her that when she felt hot outside, it was because the air around her was moving and carrying the heat away from her body. This is called convection.

So, there are three ways that heat can move: radiation, conduction, and convection.

And now Nikki knows how the ground gets hot on a sunny day!