Convection

HEAT CHAPTER
What Is Convection
• Convection is the flow of heat through a fluid from places of
higher temperature to the places of lower temperature.
• The constant movement of fluids for heat transfer in the
form of circulatory motion and upside of hot (liquid or air) is
called Convection current.
• Liquids and gases are poor conductors of heat. They are
heated by convection.
• In convection, the transfer of heat takes place by the actual
movement of the molecule itself.
ACTIVITY, CONVECTION IN LIQUIDS
• Aim: To study the convection in liquids.
• Materials required: beaker, water, potassium permanganate, bunsen
burner,
• Instructions: Take a beaker of water. Place it on the burner. Then Add some
crystals of potassium permanganate in the beaker. Heat the beaker with
the help of the burner. The crystals colour the water, so you can see the
movement of the convection current in the water
• Conclusion: the warm water rises to the surface. As it does, cooler water
moves down from the sides towards the source of heat, because water air
has expanded and is less dense that the cold water. The coloured water
moves down from the opposite side of the beaker as it cools, forming a
convection current. This continues until the whole water is heated
ACTIVITY: CONVECTION IN AIR
• Aim: to understand the transfer of heat in air by
convection
• Material(s): required: Candle flame
• Instructions: Light a candle and keep one hand on the
side of the flame and keep one hand above the flame.
Your hands will not feel equally hot, Why?
• Conclusion: The hand kept above the flame will feel
hotter, because the air on the top gets heated by
convection and hot air rises up.
 Natural convection current:
Coastal breezes
There are 2 types of convections, natural and
forced convections. During the day, land heats
up faster than the sea. The hot air above the
land rises and cooler takes place, it completes
the cycle. This produces a cool breeze from the
sea to the land known as sea breeze. That’s
why in coastal areas windows of houses face
towards the sea. But at night the opposite
happens. The land cools faster than the sea.
The warm air above the sea rises. So the cool
air from the land move towards the sea
producing, Land breeze.
 CONVECTION IN DAILY LIFE
1.Cooking: Convection is used in cooking to transfer heat from the
oven or stove to the food being cooked. In an oven, the hot air rises
and cooler air falls, creating a convection current that circulates the
heat around the food.
2.Weather patterns: Convection is a major factor in the formation of
weather patterns. The sun heats the Earth's surface, causing warm
air to rise and cooler air to sink, which creates convection currents
that drive winds, storms, and other weather phenomena.
3.Air conditioning: Air conditioning systems use convection to
transfer heat from inside a building to the outside. A fan blows air
over a coil containing a refrigerant, which absorbs heat from the air
and carries it outside.
4.Hot air balloons: Hot air balloons rely on convection to rise into
the air. Heated air inside the balloon rises, carrying the balloon and
its passengers with it.
These are just a few examples of how convection impacts our daily
lives.