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WhatisHeat?
IntroductiontoThermalPhysics
TemperatureandThermometers
ThermometersasSpeedometers
WhatisHeat?
MethodsofHeatTransfer
RatesofHeatTransfer

Earlierinthislesson,fivedictionarystyledefinitionsoftemperatureweregiven.Theywere:
Thedegreeofhotnessorcoldnessofabodyorenvironment.
Ameasureofthewarmthorcoldnessofanobjectorsubstancewithreferencetosomestandard
value.
Ameasureoftheaveragekineticenergyoftheparticlesinasampleofmatter,expressedintermsof
unitsordegreesdesignatedonastandardscale.
Ameasureoftheabilityofasubstance,ormoregenerallyofanyphysicalsystem,totransferheat
energytoanotherphysicalsystem.
Anyofvariousstandardizednumericalmeasuresofthisability,suchastheKelvin,Fahrenheit,and
Celsiusscale
Asmentioned,thefirsttwobulletpointshaveratherobviousmeanings.Thethirdbulletpointwasthe
topicofthepreviouspageinthislesson.Thefifthbulletpointwasthedefinitionthatwestartedwithas
wediscussedtemperatureandtheoperationofthermometersitwasthetopicofthesecondpagein
thislesson.Thatleavesuswiththefourthbulletpointdefiningtemperatureintermsoftheabilityofa
substancetotransferheattoanothersubstance.ThispartofLesson1isdevotedtounderstandinghow
therelativetemperatureoftwoobjectsaffectsthedirectionthatheatistransferredbetweenthetwo
objects.

WhatisHeat?
Consideraveryhotmugofcoffeeonthecountertopofyourkitchen.Fordiscussionpurposes,wewill
saythatthecupofcoffeehasatemperatureof80Candthatthesurroundings(countertop,airinthe
kitchen,etc.)hasatemperatureof26C.Whatdoyousupposewillhappeninthissituation?Isuspect
thatyouknowthatthecupofcoffeewillgraduallycooldownovertime.At80C,youwouldn'tdare
drinkthecoffee.Eventhecoffeemugwilllikelybetoohottotouch.Butovertime,boththecoffeemug
andthecoffeewillcooldown.Soonitwillbeatadrinkabletemperature.Andifyouresistthe
temptationtodrinkthecoffee,itwilleventuallyreachroomtemperature.Thecoffeecoolsfrom80Cto
about26C.Sowhatishappeningoverthecourseoftimetocausethecoffeetocooldown?The
answertothisquestioncanbeboth macroscopic and particulate
innature.
Onthemacroscopiclevel,wewouldsaythatthecoffeeandthemug
aretransferringheattothesurroundings.Thistransferofheatoccurs
fromthehotcoffeeandhotmugtothesurroundingair.Thefactthat
thecoffeelowersitstemperatureisasignthattheaveragekinetic
energyofitsparticlesisdecreasing.Thecoffeeislosingenergy.The
mugisalsoloweringitstemperaturetheaveragekineticenergyofits
particlesisalsodecreasing.Themugisalsolosingenergy.Theenergy
thatislostbythecoffeeandthemugisbeingtransferredtothe
coldersurroundings.Werefertothistransferofenergyfromthe
coffeeandthemugtothesurroundingairandcountertopasheat.Inthissense,heatissimplythe
transferofenergyfromahotobjecttoacolderobject.
Nowlet'sconsideradifferentscenariothatofacoldcanofpopplacedonthesamekitchencounter.
Fordiscussionpurposes,wewillsaythatthepopandthecanwhichcontainsithasatemperatureof
5Candthatthesurroundings(countertop,airinthekitchen,etc.)hasatemperatureof26C.Whatwill
happentothecoldcanofpopoverthecourseoftime?Oncemore,Isuspectthatyouknowtheanswer.
Thecoldpopandthecontainerwillbothwarmuptoroomtemperature.Butwhatishappeningtocause
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thesecolderthanroomtemperatureobjectstoincreasetheirtemperature?Isthecoldescapingfrom
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thepopanditscontainer?No!Thereisnosuchthingas or thecoldescaping leaking

.Rather,our
explanationisverysimilartotheexplanationusedtoexplainwhythecoffeecoolsdown.Thereisaheat
transfer.
Overtime,thepopandthecontainerincreasetheirtemperature.
Thetemperaturerisesfrom5Ctonearly26C.Thisincreasein
temperatureisasignthattheaveragekineticenergyofthe
particleswithinthepopandthecontainerisincreasing.Inorder
fortheparticleswithinthepopandthecontainertoincreasetheir
kineticenergy,theymustbegainingenergyfromsomewhere.But
fromwhere?Energyisbeingtransferredfromthesurroundings
(countertop,airinthekitchen,etc.)intheformofheat.Justasinthecaseofthecoolingcoffeemug,
energyisbeingtransferredfromthehighertemperatureobjectstothelowertemperatureobject.Once
more,thisisknownasheatthetransferofenergyfromthehighertemperatureobjecttoalower
temperatureobject.

AnotherDefinitionofTemperature
Bothofthesescenarioscouldbesummarizedbytwosimplestatements.Anobject
decreasesitstemperaturebyreleasingenergyintheformofheattoitssurroundings.
Andanobjectincreasesitstemperaturebygainingenergyintheformofheatfromits
surroundings.Boththe warmingup
andthe coolingdown
ofobjectsworksinthesamewaybyheat
transferfromthehighertemperatureobjecttothelowertemperatureobject.Sonowwecan
meaningfullyrestatethedefinitionoftemperature.Temperatureisameasureoftheabilityofa
substance,ormoregenerallyofanyphysicalsystem,totransferheatenergytoanotherphysical
system.Thehigherthetemperatureofanobjectis,thegreaterthetendencyofthatobjecttotransfer
heat.Thelowerthetemperatureofanobjectis,thegreaterthetendencyofthatobjecttobeonthe
receivingendoftheheattransfer.
Butperhapsyouhavebeenasking:whathappenstothetemperatureofsurroundings?Dothe
countertopandtheairinthekitchenincreasetheirtemperaturewhenthemugandthecoffeecool
down?Anddothecountertopandtheairinthekitchendecreaseitstemperaturewhenthecanandits
popwarmup?TheanswerisaresoundingYes!Theproof?Justtouchthecountertopitshouldfeel
coolerorwarmerthanbeforethecoffeemugorpopcanwereplacedonthecountertop.Butwhatabout
theairinthekitchen?Nowthat'salittlemoredifficulttopresentaconvincingproofof.Thefactthatthe
volumeofairintheroomissolargeandthattheenergyquicklydiffusesawayfromthesurfaceofthe
mugmeansthatthetemperaturechangeoftheairinthekitchenwillbeabnormallysmall.Infact,itwill
be negligiblysmall
.Therewouldhavetobealotmoreheattransferbeforethereisanoticeable
temperaturechange.

ThermalEquilibrium
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Inthediscussionofthecoolingofthecoffeemug,thecountertopandtheairinthekitchenwere
referredtoasthe surroundings
.Itiscommoninphysicsdiscussionsofthistypetouseamental
frameworkofa system
andthe surroundings.Thecoffeemug(andthecoffee)wouldberegardedas
the system
andeverythingelseintheuniversewouldberegardedasthe surroundings .Tokeepit
simple,weoftennarrowthescopeofthesurroundingsfromtherestoftheuniversetosimplythose
objectsthatareimmediatelysurroundingthesystem.Thisapproachofanalyzingasituationintermsof
systemandsurroundingsissousefulthatwewilladopttheapproachfortherestofthischapterandthe
next.
Nowlet'simagineathirdsituation.Supposethatasmallmetalcupofhotwaterisplacedinsideofa
largerStyrofoamcupofcoldwater.Let'ssupposethatthetemperatureofthehotwaterisinitially70C
andthatthetemperatureofthecoldwaterintheoutercupisinitially5C.Andlet'ssupposethatboth
cupsareequippedwiththermometers(ortemperatureprobes)thatmeasurethetemperatureofthe
waterineachcupoverthecourseoftime.Whatdoyousupposewillhappen?Beforeyoureadon,think
aboutthequestionandcommittosomeformofanswer.Whenthecoldwaterisdonewarmingandthe
hotwaterisdonecooling,willtheirtemperaturesbethesameordifferent?Willthecoldwaterwarmup
toalowertemperaturethanthetemperaturethatthehotwatercoolsdownto?Orasthewarmingand
coolingoccurs,willtheirtemperatures crosseachother
?
Fortunately,thisisanexperimentthatcanbedoneandinfacthasbeendoneonmanyoccasions.The
graphbelowisatypicalrepresentationoftheresults.

Asyoucanseefromthegraph,thehotwatercooleddowntoapproximately30Candthecoldwater
warmeduptoapproximatelythesametemperature.Heatistransferredfromthehightemperature
object(innercanofhotwater)tothelowtemperatureobject(outercanofcoldwater).Ifwedesignate
theinnercupofhotwateras thesystem the
,thenwecansaythatthereisaflowofheatfrom
system tothe surroundings
.Aslongasthereisatemperaturedifferencebetweenthesystemandthe
surroundings,thereisaheatflowbetweenthem.Theheatflowismorerapidatfirstasdepictedbythe
steeperslopesofthelines.Overtime,thetemperaturedifferencebetweensystemandsurroundings
decreasesandtherateofheattransferdecreases.Thisisdenotedbythegentlerslopeofthetwolines.
(Detailedinformationaboutratesofheattransferwillbediscussedlaterinthislesson.)Eventually,the
systemandthesurroundingsreachthesametemperatureandtheheattransferceases.Itisatthis
point,thatthetwoobjectsaresaidtohavereachedthermalequilibrium.

TheZeroethLawofThermodynamics
Inourchapteronelectriccircuits,welearnedthatadifferenceinelectricpotentialbetweentwo
locationscausesaflowofchargealongaconductingpathbetweenthoselocations.Aslongas
anelectricpotentialdifferenceismaintained,aflowofchargewillexist.Nowinthischapterwelearna
similarprinciplerelatedtotheflowofheat.Atemperaturedifferencebetweentwolocationswillcausea
flowofheatalonga(thermally)conductingpathbetweenthosetwolocations.Aslongasthe
temperaturedifferenceismaintained,aflowofheatwilloccur.Thisflowofheatcontinuesuntilthetwo
objectsreachthesametemperature.Oncetheirtemperaturesbecomeequal,theyaresaidtobeat
thermalequilibriumandtheflowofheatnolongertakesplace.
Thisprincipleissometimesreferredtoasthezeroethlawofthermodynamics.Thisprinciplebecame
formalizedintoalawafterthefirst,secondandthirdlawsofthermodynamicshadalready
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been discovered.Butbecausethelawseemedmorefundamentalthanthepreviouslydiscoveredthree,
itwastitledthe zeroethlaw.Allobjectsaregovernedbythislawthistendencytowardsthermal
equilibrium.Itrepresentsadailychallengeforthosewhowishtocontrolthetemperatureoftheir
bodies,theirfood,theirdrinksandtheirhomes.Weuseiceandinsulationtotrytokeepourcolddrinks
coldandweuseinsulationandongoingpulsesofmicrowaveenergytokeepourhotdrinkshot.We
equipourvehicles,ourhomesandourofficebuildingsequippedwithairconditionersandfansinorder
tokeepthemcoolduringthewarmsummermonths.Andweequipthesesamevehiclesandbuildings
withfurnacesandheatersinordertokeepthemwarmduringthecoldwintermonths.Wheneveranyof
thesesystemsareatadifferenttemperatureasthesurroundingsandnotperfectlyinsulatedfromthe
surroundings(anidealsituation),heatwillflow.Thisheatflowwillcontinueuntilthesystemand
surroundingshaveachievedequaltemperatures.Becausethesesystemshaveaconsiderablysmaller
volumethanthesurroundings,therewillbeamorenoticeableandsubstantialchangeintemperatureof
thesesystems.

TheCaloricTheory
Scientistshavelongponderedthenatureofheat.Wellintothemid19thcentury,themostaccepted
notionofheatwasonethatassociateditwithafluidknownascaloric.NotedchemistAntoineLavoisier
reasonedthatthereweretwoformsofcaloricthekindthatwaslatentorstoredincombustible
materialsandthekindthatwassensibleandobservablethroughatemperaturechange.ForLavoisier
andhisfollowers,theburningoffuelresultedinthereleaseofthislatentheattothesurroundings
whereitwasobservedtocauseatemperaturechangeofthesurroundings.ToLavoisierandhis
followers,theheatwasalwayspresenteitherinlatentformorinsensibleform.Ifahotkettleofwater
cooleddowntoroomtemperature,itwasexplainedbytheflowofcaloricfromthehotwatertothe
surroundings.
Accordingtocalorictheory,heatwas material innature.Itwasa
physicalsubstance.Itwas stuff
.LikeallstuffinLavoisier'sworld,
caloricwasaconservedsubstance.Similartoourmodernviewof
heat,thecaloristviewwasthatifcaloricwasreleasedbyone
object,thenitwasgainedbyanotherobject.Thetotalamountof
caloricneverchangeditwassimplytransferredfromoneobjectto
anotherandtransformedfromonetype(latent)toanothertype
(sensible).Butunlikeourmodernviewofheat,caloricwasanactualphysicalsubstanceafluidthat
couldflowfromoneobjecttoanother.Andunlikeourmodernview,heatwasalwayspresentinone
formoranother.Finally,inthemodernview,heatispresentonlywhenthereisanenergytransfer.Itis
senselesstospeakoftheheatasstillexistingoncethetwoobjectshavecometothermalequilibrium.
Heatisnotsomethingcontainedinanobjectratheritissomethingtransferredbetweenobjects.The
heatnolongerexistswhenthetransferceases.

TheFallofCaloricTheory
Whiletherewerealwaysalternativestothecalorictheory,itwasthemostacceptedviewupuntilthe
mid19thcentury.OneofthefirstchallengestothecalorictheorywasfromAngloAmericanscientist
BenjaminThompson(a.k.a.,CountRumford).Thompsonwasoneoftheprimaryscientistsappointedto
thetaskofboringoutthebarrelsofcannonsfortheBritishgovernment.Thompsonwasamazedbythe
hightemperaturesreachedbythecannonsandbytheshavingsthatwereshedfromthecannonsduring
theboringprocess.Inoneexperiment,heimmersedthecannoninatankofwaterduringtheboring
processandobservedthattheheatgeneratedbytheboringprocesswascapableofboilingthe
surroundingwaterwithinafewhours.Thompsondemonstratedthatthisheatgenerationoccurredin
theabsenceofanychemicalorphysicalchangeinthecannon'scomposition.Heattributedthe
generationofheattofrictionbetweenthecannonandtheboringtoolandarguedthatitcouldnothave
beentheresultoftheflowoffluidintothewater.Thompsonpublishedapaperin1798thatchallenged
theviewthatheatwasafluidthatwasconserved.Headvocateda
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thatitsoriginwasrelatedtothemotionofatomsandnotthetransferofafluid.
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EnglishphysicistJamesPrescottJouletookupwhere
Thompsonleftoff,deliveringseveralfatefulblowsto
thecalorictheorythroughacollectionof
experiments.Joule,forwhomthestandardmetric
unitofenergyisnownamed,performedexperiments
inwhichheexperimentallyrelatedtheamountof
mechanicalworktotheamountofheattransferred
fromthemechanicalsystem.Inoneexperiment,
Jouleallowedfallingweightstoturnapaddlewheel
thatwassubmergedinareservoirofwater.A
drawingoftheapparatusisdepictedattheright
(fromWikimediapublicdomain).Thefallingweights
didworkonthepaddlewheel,whichinturnheated
thewater.Joulemeasuredboththeamountof
mechanicalworkdoneandtheamountofheat
gainedbythewater.Similarexperiments
demonstratingthatheatcouldbegeneratedbyanelectriccurrentdealtafurtherblowtothethought
thatheatwasafluidthatwascontainedwithinsubstancesandwasalwaysconserved.
Aswewilllearningreatdetailinthenextchapter,objectspossessinternalenergy.Inchemical
reactions,aportionofthisenergycanbereleasedtothesurroundingsintheformofheat.However,
thisinternalenergyisnotamaterialsubstanceorafluidcontainedbytheobject.Itissimplythe
potentialenergystoredinthebondsthatholdparticleswithintheobjecttogether.Heatorthermal
energyistheformthisenergypossesseswhenitisbeingtransferred
between systems
and surroundings
.Thereisnothingmaterialaboutheat.Itisneitherasubstancenora
fluidthatisconserved.Heatisaformofenergythatcanbetransferredfromoneobjecttoanotheror
evencreatedattheexpenseofthelossofotherformsofenergy.

Toreview,temperatureisameasureoftheabilityofasubstance,ormoregenerallyofanyphysical
system,totransferheatenergytoanotherphysicalsystem.Iftwoobjectsorifasystemandits
surroundingshaveadifferenttemperature,thentheyhaveadifferentabilitytotransferheat.Over
time,therewillbeaflowofenergyfromthehotterobjecttothecoolerobject.Thisflowofenergyis
referredtoasheat.Theheatflowcausesthehotterobjecttocooldownandthecolderobjecttowarm
up.Theflowofheatwillcontinueuntiltheyreachthesametemperature.Atthispoint,thetwoobjects
haveestablishedathermalequilibriumwitheachother.
Inthenextpartofthislesson,wewillexplorethemechanismofheattransfer.Wewilllookatthe
variousmethodsbywhichheatcanbetransferredfromobjecttoobjectorevenfromonelocation
withinanobjecttoanother.Wewilllearnthatthemacroscopiccanbeexplainedintermsofthe
microscopic.

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