Heat transfer experiments are basically experiments that deal with temperature, its characteristics and qualities. Heat transfer experiments are done for many purposes, but mainly to do investigations on the nature of cooling and heating.
Heat transfers are all about the change that thermal energy goes through as it moves from a hot state to a colder one. This scenario happens in many situations, but there are three main mechanisms wherein thermal energy goes through changes and is transported.
Conduction – Thermal conduction or heat conduction is spontaneous thermal energy transfer. This is done via matter that moves from a higher temperature region to a lower temperature region. This is done in order to reach equal temperature between two different temperatures.
Convection – Convection is one of the most general terms used when referring to the currents’ movements inside fluids. Fluids refer to gases, rheids and liquids. Convection is used generally in heat transfer as well as mass transfer. When it comes to fluids, mass transfer and convective heat take place via the the process of diffusion and also by advection. When it comes to convection in mass and heat transfer, convection is all about the sum of diffusive transfer and advective transfer.
Radiation – Radiation is basically electromagnetic waves which transport energy directly through space. Sunlight is the best example of radiation. It radiates towards our planet through space without the help of solids and fluids. The energy basically travels through empty space. Nothing – no solids nor fluids – is responsible for its being able to bring heat to the Earth, which means it does not undergo conduction nor convection.
There are many scientific experiments that center around conduction, convection and radiation. Many school science subjects already teach the basic concepts of conduction, convection and radiation. When the basic concepts of these three are learned, it helps to have a better understanding of heat transfers as well.