Chapter 12 of 13All chapters
Chapter 12 of 13
Heat and thermodynamics
Temperature, transfer and the arrow of time.
Heat against temperature
Temperature measures the average energy of particles. Heat is the energy that moves because of a temperature difference, and it always flows from hotter to colder.
- Conduction moves heat through contact, convection through moving fluid, radiation through waves.
- Absolute zero, at 0 kelvin, is the point where that motion is at its minimum.
The two laws that matter
The first law is conservation of energy. The second says disorder in a closed system does not decrease, which is why heat will not flow uphill on its own and why engines can never be perfectly efficient.