Thermal Properties of Matter.

13 lessons116 min7 simulations10 practice questions

Everything in this chapter follows heat as it moves and what it does on arrival. It starts with temperature and how thermometers and the Kelvin scale measure it, then looks at what heat does to a body: it expands (with water's odd behaviour near 4 °C and the stress in a clamped rail), warms by an amount set by the specific heat, or changes state at fixed temperature through latent heat. Calorimetry balances heat lost against heat gained. The last part is about how heat travels: conduction through solids, convection in fluids, radiation through empty space (with Wien's and Stefan's laws), and Newton's law for how fast a hot body cools.

Also called: heat and calorimetry · thermal expansion · heat transfer