THERMAL ENERGY

Thermal Energy
• THERMAL ENERGY – the total energy of atoms and molecules due to their
movement or vibration

• HEAT – thermal energy that flows from one object to another because of
a difference in temperatures

Symbol: Q
Unit: joule (J) or calorie (cal)

• TEMPERATURE – quantity that indicates which way, if any, thermal energy

will naturally flow between two objects

Scales: Celsius (C), Farenheit (F), Kelvin (K)

• An object with a higher temperature will
always transfer thermal energy to an object
with a lower temperature.

• If no thermal energy flows when two objects

touch, then these objects are in THERMAL
EQUILIBRIUM and their temperatures are the
same.
• If you pick up an ice cube, your hand suddenly
feels cold. Which way is heat flowing?
 Heat Transfer
• Heat transfers throughout our environment all
the time.
• Heat transfers to and through some materials
better than others, depending on the capacity
of the material.
• Three ways:
– Conduction
– Convection
– Radiaton
 Conduction
• The transfer of heat within a substance, molecule by
molecule.
• The transfer of heat energy arising from temperature
differences between adjacent parts of a body.
• The measurement of how well a material can conduct
heat depends on how it's molecules are structurally
bonded together.
The better the conductor, the more rapidly heat will
transfer.

Molecules at the hot end of a rod vibrate faster and

faster as the temperature increases. When these
molecules collide with their less energetic neighbors,
some kinetic energy is transferred to them. Through such
molecular collisions, energy travels down the rod.
 Convection
• The transfer of heat by the mass movement of a fluid
in the vertical (up/down) direction.
• This type of heat transfer takes place in liquids and
gases.
• Examples:
– Wind currents
– Hot air balloon
As gas or a liquid is heated, it warms,
expands and rises because it is less dense.

When gas or a liquid cools, it becomes

denser and falls.

As the gas or liquid warms and rises, cools and falls,

it creates a convection current.
 Radiation
• The transfer of heat by radiant heat from a hot
object to a cooler object through space
• It is in the form of electromagnetic waves
emitted by a heated body
• Examples:
– Sun
– Camp fire
– Microwave oven
– Light bulb
Important thermal properties:

• Thermal conductivity
• Heat Capacity
• Thermal expansion
 HEAT CAPACITY
– a property that is indicative of a material’s ability to
absorb heat from the external surroundings
– it represents the amount of energy required to
produce a unit temperature rise

C = Q/T
where C: heat capacity
Q: amount of heat required to
produce T
T : change in temperature
Unit: J/C or cal/C
 SPECIFIC HEAT
• represents the heat capacity per unit mass
• depends on the material from which the
object is made
c = Q/mT
where c: specific heat
Q: amount of heat required to
produce T
T : change in temperature
Unit: J/kgC or cal/gC
Specific heat of some common materials
(cal/gC)
Water 1
Wood 0.4
Glass 0.2
Aluminum 0.215
Iron 0.107
Copper 0.092
Zinc 0.0922
Silver 0.0324
Lead 0.0305
 Conservation of Energy
When two or more substances are in thermal
contact:
The heat lost by the cooling objects must equal
the heat gained by the substances being
warmed.
Heat lost = Heat gained

Qlost = Qgained
 Examples
1. Find the amount of heat required to raise the
temperature of 193 g of glass from 19C to
35C.
2. An 800 g chunk of unknown metal (initially at
100C) is dropped into 1 kg water (initially at
20C). The final temperature of the system is
22C. Find the specific heat and material of
the metal.
 THERMAL EXPANSION
1. LINEAR EXPANSION – the change in any linear
dimension of the solid, such as its length,
width, or thickness L

L = LT
where: L – change in length
 - coefficient of linear expansion L

L – original length
T – change in temperature
Some Average Coefficient of Linear
Expansion
Substance  (x 10-6 / C)
Lead 29
Aluminum 23
Brass 19
Copper 17
Steel 11
Glass (ordinary) 9
Glass (pyrex) 3.2
2. AREA EXPANSION
A = 2AT
where: A – change in area
 - coefficient of linear expansion
A – original area
T – change in temperature

Question: Do holes expand or contract when the temperature

increases?
Answer: A hole in a piece of solid material expands when heated
and contracts when cooled, just as if it were filled with the
material that surrounds it.
3. VOLUME EXPANSION

V = 3VT
where: V – change in volume
 - coefficient of linear expansion
V – original volume
T – change in temperature
 Example
1. A metal rod that is 100 cm long at 10C is
observed to be 100.2 cm long at a
temperature of 80C. What is its coefficient of
linear expansion?
 Exercises
1. Find the mass of the water used to cool a 240 g of
lead from 37.2C to 22.5C. The initial temperature
of the water is 100C. (clead = 0.0305 cal/g0C, cwater =
1.0 cal/g0C)

2. A machinist bores a hole of diameter 1.35 cm in a

steel plate at a temperature of 25C. What is the
area of the hole (a) at 25C? (b) when the
temperature is increased to 175C?
(steel = 11 x 10-6 / C)
Conceptual Problems:

1. How does the thickness of a pot or frying pan affect the way it
cooks? What effect does the pot’s composition (e.g. aluminum,
steel, or ceramic) have on the way it cooks?

2. Why can potatoes be baked more quickly when a metal skewer

has been inserted through them?

3. A king decreed that there be made three equally massive coffee

mugs, one made of gold for him, one of iron for his army chief
and one of aluminum for the court jester. The king always
complains that his coffee is too hot while the jester complains
his is too cold. Can you think for an explanation for this? The
mugs hold equal volumes of coffee.
 Phase Changes
• Transitions between solid, liquid, and gaseous
phases typically involve large amounts of energy
compared to the specific heat.
• The graph below presumes that the pressure is
one standard atmosphere.

http://justcallmemsfrizzle.wordpress.com/2008/12/05/phase-change-graph/
 Heat of Transformation
• Sometimes called the latent heat of
transformation, L

Q=mL

Question:
Why does exposure to steam at 1000C produce a
more severe burn than exposure to the same
amount of hot water at 100 0C
 Heat of Fusion
The energy required to change a gram of a substance from the
solid to the liquid state without changing its temperature is
commonly called it's "heat of fusion". This energy breaks
down the solid bonds, but leaves a significant amount of
energy associated with the intermolecular forces of the liquid
state.

𝒎𝒊 𝑳𝒇 = mass of ice x latent heat of fusion

Melting Points and Heat of Fusion
Boiling point Boiling point Heat of vaporization
Substance
K °C (103 J/kg)

Helium 4.216 -268.93 20.9

Hydrogen 20.26 -252.89 452
Nitrogen 77.34 -195.81 201
Oxygen 90.18 -182.97 213
Ethyl alcohol 351 78 854
Mercury 630 357 272
Water 373.15 100.00 2256
Sulfur 717.75 444.60 326
Lead 2023 1750 871
Antimony 1713 1440 561
Silver 2466 2193 2336
Gold 2933 2660 1578
Copper 2840 2567 5069
 Heat of Vaporization
• The energy required to change a gram of a
liquid into the gaseous state at the boiling
point is called the "heat of vaporization".

𝒎𝒔 𝑳𝒗 = mass of steam x latent heat of vaporization

Boiling Points and Heat of Vaporization
Melting point Melting point Heat of fusion
Substance
K °C (103 J/kg)
Helium 3.5 -269.65 5.23
Hydrogen 13.84 -259.31 58.6
Nitrogen 63.18 -209.97 25.5
Oxygen 54.36 -218.79 13.8
Ethyl alcohol 159 -114 104.2
Mercury 234 -39 11.8
Water 273.15 0.00 334
Sulfur 392 119 38.1
Lead 600.5 327.3 24.5
Antimony 903.65 630.50 165
Silver 1233.95 960.80 88.3
Gold 1336.15 1063.00 64.5
Copper 1356 1083 134
 Examples
1. A 105-g copper calorimeter contains 307 g of
water at room temperature (T= 25.0 0C). If
52.0 g ice at 00C is added to the calorimeter,
what is the final temperature of the system?

2. If 20.0 g of steam at 1000C is mixed into 80.0

g of water at 20.0 0C, what will be the final
temperature if no thermal energy is lost and
no steam escapes?