ACTIVITY 7: METHOD OF HEAT TRANSFER

Methods of Heat Transfer

OJECTIVE Determine how energy is transferred by conduction through two different types of metal and if different materials transfer energy better than others. Determine how energy is transferred by convection in water. To determine how metal cans with different surfaces (black paint and unpainted) are able to absorb radiation from a light source.

BACKGROUND Energy, in the process we call heat or heat flow, is constantly flowing into and out of all objects, including living objects. Heat flow moves energy from a higher temperature to a lower temperature. The bigger the difference in temperature between two objects, the faster heat flows between them. When temperatures are the same there is no change in energy due to heat flow. There are three methods to transfer heat and these are conduction, radiation, and convection. Heat has the units of energy; heat flow has the units of power. Figure 1 illustrates the three different methods of how heat from a wood stove is transferred into the room and people.
Figure 1. Heat from a wood stove is radiated Conduction is the method of heat transfer is most to cooler surfaces like walls, floors, ceilings, familiar to people. If you have ever burned yourself furniture, and people. Energy as heat is also on a hot pan because you touched it, you have conducted into the air and circulated experienced this first-hand. Conduction is heat naturally by a process called convection transfer through matter. Metals conduct heat well. Air is not as good a conductor of heat. This is a direct contact type of heat transfer. Conduction is the type of heat flow that results when things are actually touching. Energy traveling as heat by conduction needs matter to flow through. If you touch a hot object the heat is conducted by physical contact with your skin. The energized atoms in the object transmit their energy to the atoms in your hand. If you are standing in cold air, the heat from your body flows from the molecules in your body into the cold air molecules that are touching your body. If you are floating in cold water, the heat flows from your body into the cold water molecules that are touching your skin. If you fry vegetables on a stove you are relying on conduction to cook your vegetables. Heat from the flame flows through the metal by conduction, into and through the cooking oil by conduction, and into and throughout the vegetables by conduction. Conduction cannot travel through a vacuum because in a vacuum there are no atoms or molecules making contacting with other atoms or molecules.
Modified by Dr. Maria Cecilia Galvez for LBYENVP 11/21/10 -1-

ACTIVITY 7: METHOD OF HEAT TRANSFER

Something made of atoms or molecules has to touch something else made of atoms or molecules in order for there to be conduction. Radiation is the only way heat is transferred that can move through the relative emptiness of space. All other forms of heat transfer require motion of molecules like air or water to move heat. The majority of our energy arrives in the form of radiation from our Sun. Almost all of the energy from the sun that travels 93 million miles in 8 and 1/2 minutes through the vacuum of space is radiant energy or solar radiation. The Earth receives an enormous amount of energy from the Sun. Every year the Earth receives about 300,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 kJ (or 300 billion trillion kJ) of energy. Some of this energy drives processes in the atmosphere that cause the wind and waves. Some of it is converted to chemical potential energy through the process of photosynthesis. Some is absorbed as thermal energy by the oceans and continents. When you stand outside on a sunny day feeling the warm rays, remember that only 8 and 1/2 minutes ago it left the sun. Scientists call it electromagnetic radiation. Infrared, ultraviolet, and visible light are examples of electromagnetic radiation that can transfer energy from one object to another object. Objects that are good absorbers of radiation are good radiators as well. The atmosphere, which does not absorb certain wavelengths of solar radiation, will absorb certain wavelengths of radiation. The particles that reach Earth from the Sun are within a wavelength that the Earths atmosphere will absorb. When the Sun heats the Earth, the Earth gets warmer in that location and re-radiates heat into the atmosphere, making it doubly warm. Believe it or not, your body and all other objects are always giving off or absorbing heat by radiation. Heat transfer by radiation goes from a hotter object to a cooler object - like from the sun to earth, or from hot coals to you, or from your body to the cold walls of a lonely castle on a dark and stormy night. Convection is heat transfer by the movement of mass from one place to another. It can take place only in liquids and gases. Heat gained by conduction or radiation from the sun is moved about the planet by convection. The radiation from the sun heats the air of the atmosphere, but the heating of the Earth is not even. This is because the amount of sunlight an area receives depends upon the time of day and the time of year. In general, regions near the equator have hotter air. For example, the lower layers of the atmosphere absorb infrared energy emitted by the Earths surface. The warmed gas expands, rises, and transfers thermal energy to higher layers of the atmosphere. Convection in the atmosphere is responsible for the redistribution of thermal energy from the equatorial regions to the polar regions as well as from the surface upward. Convection is generally used to describe vertical motion. Advection is sometimes used to describe horizontal motion, such as winds. Convection also occurs in Earths oceans as warmed water at the surface expands away and cooler water from below wells up to the surface. In water
Modified by Dr. Maria Cecilia Galvez for LBYENVP 11/21/10 -2-

ACTIVITY 7: METHOD OF HEAT TRANSFER

warmed at the bottom, the motion of the warmed water is from the bottom toward the top. As the surface water becomes cooler, it sinks toward the bottom.

Modified by Dr. Maria Cecilia Galvez for LBYENVP 11/21/10

-3-

ACTIVITY 7: METHOD OF HEAT TRANSFER

PART I. HEAT TRANSFER BY CONDUCTION EQUIPMENT NEEDED

USB Link Soldering iron 2 different metal rods with the same dimension

2 PASPORT Temperature Sensors Buret clamps Pre-Lab Question

Which type of metal being tested (aluminum or brass) will conduct thermal energy from one end to the other most rapidly?

Procedure/Experimental Set-up:
1. Arrange the equipments as shown in Fig. 3. However, instead of candle a soldering iron will be use. 2. Attached the USB links to the computer and open the Data Studio software. Choose create experiment and you should see a Temperature vs time graph. There should be two temperatures indicated in the graph (Temperature and Temperature 2). 3. Determine which metal represents Temperature or Temperature 2 by clicking on the start tab of data studio and pressing and removing the connection of one temperature sensor from the USB link. This sensor will give a negative temperature reading. 4. Clear all the graphs of data from Data Studio from deleting all data runs. 5. Start data studio and get the initial temperature of the metal rods. Turn on the soldering iron and watch the graphical display to observe the temperature change. After 15 minutes click on the stop tab to stop the recording of data. 6. Get the final temperature of the rods. 7. Print the graph using the pdf writer.

Modified by Dr. Maria Cecilia Galvez for LBYENVP 11/21/10

-4-

ACTIVITY 7: METHODS OF HEAT TRANSFER

Data sheet for conduction

Analysis/Synthesis Questions 1. Was your prediction correct? 2. How do you know the metal cylinders conducted heat energy? 3. Which metal conducted heat energy the fastest? Explain, using your slope data.

Modified by Dr. Maria Cecilia Galvez for LBYENVP 11/21/10

-5-

ACTIVITY 7: METHODS OF HEAT TRANSFER

PART II. HEAT TRANSFER BY RADIATION

EQUIPMENT NEEDED
USB Links 2 radiation cans painted black and silver 150 Watts lamp

2 PASPORT Temperature Sensors

Pre-Lab Question How will the temperature change of water in a can that is painted black compare to the temperature change of water in a can that is unpainted when both are exposed to a heat lamp?

Procedure/Experimental Set-up:
1. Place the heat lamp so it is about 20 cm in front of the two cans. Make sure the lamp is the same distance from each can so each can will be exposed to the same amount of radiation(radiant energy). 2. Attached the USB links to the computer and open the Data Studio software. Choose create experiment and you should see a Temperature vs time graph. There should be two temperatures indicated in the graph (Temperature and Temperature 2). 3. Determine which metal represents Temperature or Temperature 2 by clicking on the start tab of data studio and pressing and removing the connection of one temperature sensor from the USB link. This sensor will give a negative temperature reading. 4. Clear all the graphs of data from Data Studio from deleting all data runs. 5. Start data studio and get the initial temperature of the water inside the cans. Turn on the lamp and watch the graphical display to observe the temperature change. After 15 minutes click on the stop tab to stop the recording of data. 6. Get the final temperature of the rods. 7. Print the graph using the pdf writer.
Modified by Dr. Maria Cecilia Galvez for LBYENVP 11/21/10 -6-

ACTIVITY 7: METHODS OF HEAT TRANSFER

Data sheet for Radiation

Comparison of absorption of radiation of a painted (black) versus an unpainted can

Analysis questions 1. Examine your graph of Temperature versus Time and data table. Which can absorbed the radiation more efficiently during the data recording? How do you know? Use your data to support our answer. 2. Do your results support your prediction? Synthesis Questions 1. Suppose you had to choose a roof color for a new house and were given two choices: dark grey or light grey. Which would you choose to keep your house cooler in the summer? Why? 2. Why does an asphalt parking lot feel hotter in the summer than an adjacent grassy area?

Modified by Dr. Maria Cecilia Galvez for LBYENVP 11/21/10

-7-