Heat transfer is the exchange of thermal energy between physical systems. The rate of heat transfer is dependent on the temperatures of the systems and the properties of the intervening medium through which the heat is transferred. The three fundamental modes of heat transfer are conduction, convection and radiation. Heat transfer, the flow of energy in the form of heat, is a process by which a system's internal energy is changed, hence is of vital use in applications of the First Law of Thermodynamics. Conduction is also known as diffusion, not to be confused with diffusion related to the mixing of constituents of a fluid.
Conduction
On a microscopic scale, heat conduction occurs as hot, rapidly moving or vibrating atoms and molecules interact with neighboring atoms and molecules, transferring some of their energy (heat) to these neighboring particles. In other words, heat is transferred by conduction when adjacent atoms vibrate against one another, or as electrons move from one atom to another.
Conduction is the most significant means of heat transfer within a solid or between solid objects in thermal contact. Fluids X especially gases Xare less conductive. Thermal contact conductance is the study of heat conduction between solid bodies in contact. The process of heat transfer from one place to another place without the movement of particles is called conduction.
Example: Heat transfer through Metal rods. Steady state conduction (see Fourier's law) is a form of conduction that happens when the temperature difference driving the conduction is constant, so that after an equilibration time, the spatial distribution of temperatures in the conducting object does not change any further. In steady state conduction, the amount of heat entering a section is equal to amount of heat coming out.
Transient conduction (see Heat equation) occurs when the temperature within an object changes as a function of time. Analysis of transient systems is more complex and often calls for the application of approximation theories or numerical analysis by computer.