14.5 Conduction

Learning Objectives

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

• Calculate thermal conductivity.
• Observe conduction of heat in collisions.
• Study thermal conductivities of common substances.

The information presented in this section supports the following AP® learning objectives and science practices:

• 1.E.3.1 The student is able to design an experiment and analyze data from it to examine thermal conductivity. (S.P. 4.1, 4.2, 5.1)
• 5.B.6.1 The student is able to describe the models that represent processes by which energy can be transferred between a system and its environment because of differences in temperature: conduction, convection, and radiation. (S.P. 1.2)

Your feet feel cold as you walk barefoot across the living room carpet in your cold house and then step onto the kitchen tile floor. This result is intriguing, since the carpet and tile floor are both at the same temperature. The different sensation you feel is explained by the different rates of heat transfer: the heat loss during the same time interval is greater for skin in contact with the tiles than with the carpet, so the temperature drop is greater on the tiles.

Some materials conduct thermal energy faster than others. In general, good conductors of electricity (metals like copper, aluminum, gold, and silver) are also good heat conductors, whereas insulators of electricity (wood, plastic, and rubber) are poor heat conductors. Figure 14.14 shows molecules in two bodies at different temperatures. The (average) kinetic energy of a molecule in the hot body is higher than in the colder body. If two molecules collide, an energy transfer from the molecule with greater kinetic energy to the molecule with less kinetic energy occurs. The cumulative effect from all collisions results in a net flux of heat from the hot body to the colder body. The heat flux thus depends on the temperature difference $\text{Δ}{\rm T}={{\rm T}}_{\text{hot}}-T_{\text{cold}}$. Therefore, you will get a more severe burn from boiling water than from hot tap water. Conversely, if the temperatures are the same, the net heat transfer rate falls to zero, and equilibrium is achieved. Owing to the fact that the number of collisions increases with increasing area, heat conduction depends on the cross-sectional area. If you touch a cold wall with your palm, your hand cools faster than if you just touch it with your fingertip.

A third factor in the mechanism of conduction is the thickness of the material through which heat transfers. The figure below shows a slab of material with different temperatures on either side. Suppose that $T_2$ is greater than $T_1$, so that heat is transferred from left to right. Heat transfer from the left side to the right side is accomplished by a series of molecular collisions. The thicker the material, the more time it takes to transfer the same amount of heat. This model explains why thick clothing is warmer than thin clothing in winters, and why Arctic mammals protect themselves with thick blubber.

Lastly, the heat transfer rate depends on the material properties described by the coefficient of thermal conductivity. All four factors are included in a simple equation that was deduced from and is confirmed by experiments. The rate of conductive heat transfer through a slab of material, such as the one in Figure 14.15, is given by

where $Q/t$ is the rate of heat transfer in watts or kilocalories per second, $k$ is the thermal conductivity of the material, $A$ and $d$ are its surface area and thickness, as shown in Figure 14.15, and $(T_2-T_1)$ is the temperature difference across the slab. Table 14.3 gives representative values of thermal conductivity.

A combination of material and thickness is often manipulated to develop good insulators—the smaller the conductivity $k$ and the larger the thickness $d$, the better. The ratio of $d/k$ will thus be large for a good insulator. The ratio $d/k$ is called the $R$ factor. The rate of conductive heat transfer is inversely proportional to $R$. The larger the value of $R$, the better the insulation. $R$ factors are most commonly quoted for household insulation, refrigerators, and the like—unfortunately, it is still in non-metric units of ft²·°F·h/Btu, although the unit usually goes unstated (1 British thermal unit [Btu] is the amount of energy needed to change the temperature of 1.0 lb of water by 1.0 °F). A couple of representative values are an $R$ factor of 11 for 3.5-in-thick fiberglass batts (pieces) of insulation and an $R$ factor of 19 for 6.5-in-thick fiberglass batts. Walls are usually insulated with 3.5-in batts, while ceilings are usually insulated with 6.5-in batts. In cold climates, thicker batts may be used in ceilings and walls.

Note that in Table 14.3, the best thermal conductors—silver, copper, gold, and aluminum—are also the best electrical conductors, again related to the density of free electrons in them. Cooking utensils are typically made from good conductors.