TEMPERATURE CONTROL AND VENTILATION

Heat is a form of energy. It moves from a region of higher temperature to a region of lower
temperature.
Temperature is a measure of how hot or cold an object is. Temperature is measured by using a
scale such as the Celsius scale. 0°C is the temperature at which water freezes. 100°C is the
temperature at which water boils. Another measurement for temperature is Kelvin, it starts at
-273°C with 0K. In theory, molecules stop moving and have no heat energy at -273°C. This
temperature is absolute zero.

Heat Transfer
Heat Transfer- heat being transferred from place to place through solids, liquids and gases. Heat
is transferred in three different ways by conduction, convection and radiation.

Conduction is the transfer of heat between substances that are in direct contact with each other.
 The better the conductor, the more rapidly heat will be transferred. Metal is a good
conductor of heat and are called thermal conductors. Materials that do not conduct heat
are called thermal insulators.
 How does conduction occur?
When a substance is heated, particles will gain more energy, and vibrate more. These
molecules then bump into nearby particles and transfer some of their energy to them.
This then continues and passes the energy from the hot end down to the colder end of the
substance.

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 Exercise: Classify the materials below as heat conductors or insulators.

Convection
Convection refers to the transfer of heat energy in fluids (ie. Liquids and gases) from one
place to another.
Heat/Thermal energy is transferred from hot places to cold places by convection. Convection
occurs when warmer areas of a liquid or gas rise to cooler areas in the liquid or gas. Cooler liquid
or gas then takes the place of the warmer areas which have risen higher. This results in a
continuous circulation pattern.
Eg of convection include: Water boiling in a pan, land breeze and sea breeze.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dN2SB2Jg77o

Sea breeze –occurs during the day. In sunlight, the land warms up and the warm air above the
land rises. Cooler air from over the sea rushes inland to take its place.

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Formation of Land and Sea Breeze- Convection
Sea Breeze Land Breeze
Takes place during the day Takes place during the night
The LAND is warmer The SEA is warmer
The warm air RISES because it is less dense The warm air RISES because it is less dense
Cool air from the SEA replaces the warm air Cool air from the LAND replaces the warm
air

Question: Briefly outline how land breeze is formed.

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Radiation
Radiation is a method of heat transfer that does not rely upon any contact between the heat
source and the heated object as is the case with conduction and convection. Heat can be
transmitted through empty space by thermal radiation often called infrared radiation. This is a
type electromagnetic radiation. No mass is exchanged and no medium is required in the process
of radiation.
Therefore, radiation refers to the transfer of heat energy as electromagnetic waves, which
can travel through a vacuum.
Examples of radiation is the heat from the sun, or heat released from the filament of a light bulb.

Diagram showing differences between convection, conduction and radiation.

Conduction- occurs due to direct contact between atoms

Convection- occurs due to difference in densities, the warm air rises and cooler air replaces it
Radiation- heat travels in the form of electromagnetic rays

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 Thermometers
A thermometer is a device that measures temperature or a temperature gradient (the degree of
hotness or coldness of an object). A thermometer has two important elements:

(1) A temperature sensor (e.g. the bulb of a mercury-in-glass thermometer) in which some change
occurs with a change in temperature; and

(2) Some means of converting this change into a numerical value

Types of thermometers
Laboratory Thermometers- a thermometer used in laboratories that usually measures temperatures
between -10°C and 110°C. Laboratory thermometers are designed for lab purposes such as checking
boiling point, freezing point, or temperature of other substances.

Structure:

The thermometer is made relatively small so that it is portable and cheap.

The liquid is contained in a thin-walled glass bulb. The bulb is made relatively larger than its bore to
contain more of the liquid, so as to improve sensitivity.

The narrow bore of the capillary tube is uniform.

Clinical Thermometer – A thermometer used to measure the temperature of the human body.. They are
accurate and sensitive, having a narrow place where the mercury level rises very fast. A kink in the tube
stops the mercury level from falling on its own.

These thermometers are used in clinics by doctors, so they are also called a doctor's thermometers or
medical thermometers. Most show both Celsius scale and Fahrenheit temperature scales, and run from

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35 degree Celsius to 42 degree Celsius.

Digital Thermometers

Digital Thermometer produces a digital readout.

Maximum and minimum thermometers

The maximum-minimum thermometer consists of a U-shaped glass tube filled with alcohol on both ends
of the tube. As the alcohol expands in response to temperature changes, the metal index on both sides
of the thermometer record the maximum and minimum temperatures.

The lowest point of each metal index indicates the temperature. In the figure on the left, the minimum
temperature is 24°C and the maximum temperature is 30°C.

The diurnal temperature range is therefore 6°C.

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 Maximum and minimum thermometer

THERMOSTATS
A traditional thermostat has two pieces of different metals bolted together to form what's called a

bimetallic strip (or bimetal strip). The strip works as a bridge in an electrical circuit connected to

a heating system such as water heaters. Normally the "bridge is down", the strip carries

electricity through the circuit, and the heating is on. When the strip gets hot, one of the metals

expands more than the other so the whole strip bends very slightly. Eventually, it bends so much

that it breaks open the circuit. The "bridge is up", the electricity instantly switches off, the

heating cuts out, and the water starts to cool.

But then what happens? As the water cools, the strip cools too and bends back to its original

shape. Sooner or later, it snaps back into the circuit and makes the electricity flow again, so the

heating switches back on.

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 Evaporation and Cooling
Evaporation refers to the change from a liquid to a gas. This process requires heat.

Some factors that increase the rate of evaporation are:

 Temperature- the higher the temperature, the faster the rate of evaporation
 Surface area- the larger the surface area, the faster the liquid evaporates
 Humidity- the lower the humidity, the faster the rate of evaporation. (Note- humidity refers
to the amount of water vapour in the air).

When a material in liquid state is given energy, it changes its phase from liquid to vapour without
change in temperature- the energy absorbed in the process is called latent heat of vaporization.

Latent heat of vaporization- is the energy that is absorbed when a liquid is changed to a gas,
so there is no change in temperature even though heat is applied.

The higher the latent heat of vaporization, the stronger the forces of attraction between
particles in a liquid.

Question:
Describe what happens to the particles in a liquid when it evaporates.

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How does sweating help to cool us down?

 Water evaporating from sweat helps to cool down the body.

 As the water from the sweat evaporates, energy is absorbed from the body as the water particles
escape. This causes the body to cool down.
Why do we feel warm while exercising?
All the chemical reactions which occur in our body are known as our metabolism. As we exercise, the
speed or rate at which these metabolic reactions occur increase causing more heat energy to be released.

Question:

Explain how rubbing on alcohol can help lower the body temperature of a baby.

Exposure to the sun

The Sun’s rays carry harmful ultraviolet radiation to Earth. In order to protect our skin from this radiation,
one should apply sunblock or sun screen.

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Heat Strokes
A heatstroke would occur when the body temperature rises to dangerous levels- 42 0C can be fatal. Some
signs and symptoms of heat strokes are

 Feeling sick, tired, weak

 Dizziness
 Vomiting
 Headaches
 Muscle cramps
 Difficulty to breathe
 Person falls into a coma
Ventilation
Ventilation refers to the proper circulation of air. Ventilation can either be natural (eg natural breeze) or
artificial (eg fans and ac units).
Effects of poor ventilation on health

 Respiratory problems: when stale air is trapped in a building, the humidity increases.
Additionally, if there is a lot of people in a poorly ventilated room, they would breathe out water
vapour which cannot escape, causing the humidity to rise. This damp condition would promote
the growth of microorganisms which would cause respiratory problems and make people feel ill,
also causing dizzinees and headaches due to a lack of oxygen.
Ways to improve ventilation in a room/building.

 Add doors and windows.

A room should have both a lower and upper window. As the air from outside is drawn into the
room through the lower window, the warmer air would rise and leave the room through the upper
window. This occurs by convection.

 Use of air-conditioning units and fans to introduce cool air.

 Building air vents below the eaves of roofs to allow warm air to leave as it rises.

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