Convection

Convection is the heat transfer due to the bulk movement of molecules within fluids such as gases and liquids, including molten rock (rheid). Convection includes sub-mechanisms of advection (directional bulk-flow transfer of heat), and diffusion (non-directional transfer of energy or mass particles along a concentration gradient). Convection is the heat transfer due to the bulk movement of molecules within fluids such as gases and liquids, including molten rock (rheid). Convection includes sub-mechanisms of advection (directional bulk-flow transfer of heat), and diffusion (non-directional transfer of energy or mass particles along a concentration gradient). Convection cannot take place in most solids because neither bulk current flows nor significant diffusion of matter can take place. Diffusion of heat takes place in rigid solids, but that is called heat conduction. Convection, additionally may take place in soft solids or mixtures where solid particles can move past each other. Thermal convection can be demonstrated by placing a heat source (e.g. a Bunsen burner) at the side of a glass filled with a liquid, and observing the changes in temperature in the glass caused by the warmer fluid circulating into cooler areas. Convective heat transfer is one of the major types of heat transfer, and convection is also a major mode of mass transfer in fluids. Convective heat and mass transfer takes place both by diffusion – the random Brownian motion of individual particles in the fluid – and by advection, in which matter or heat is transported by the larger-scale motion of currents in the fluid. In the context of heat and mass transfer, the term 'convection' is used to refer to the combined effects of advective and diffusive transfer. Sometimes the term 'convection' is used to refer specifically to 'free heat convection' (natural heat convection) where bulk-flow in a fluid is due to temperature-induced differences in buoyancy, as opposed to 'forced heat convection' where forces other than buoyancy (such as pump or fan) move the fluid. However, in mechanics, the correct use of the word 'convection' is the more general sense, and different types of convection should be further qualified, for clarity. Convection can be qualified in terms of being natural, forced, gravitational, granular, or thermomagnetic. It may also be said to be due to combustion, capillary action, or Marangoni and Weissenberg effects. Heat transfer by natural convection plays a role in the structure of Earth's atmosphere, its oceans, and its mantle. Discrete convective cells in the atmosphere can be seen as clouds, with stronger convection resulting in thunderstorms. Natural convection also plays a role in stellar physics. The convection mechanism is also used in cooking, when using a convection oven, which uses fans to circulate hot air around food in order to cook the food faster than a conventional oven. The word convection may have slightly different but related usages in different scientific or engineering contexts or applications. The broader sense is in fluid mechanics, where convection refers to the motion of fluid regardless of cause. However, in thermodynamics 'convection' often refers specifically to heat transfer by convection. Convection occurs on a large scale in atmospheres, oceans, planetary mantles, and it provides the mechanism of heat transfer for a large fraction of the outermost interiors of our sun and all stars. Fluid movement during convection may be invisibly slow, or it may be obvious and rapid, as in a hurricane. On astronomical scales, convection of gas and dust is thought to occur in the accretion disks of black holes, at speeds which may closely approach that of light. Convective heat transfer is a mechanism of heat transfer occurring because of bulk motion (observable movement) of fluids. Heat is the entity of interest being advected (carried), and diffused (dispersed). This can be contrasted with conductive heat transfer, which is the transfer of energy by vibrations at a molecular level through a solid or fluid, and radiative heat transfer, the transfer of energy through electromagnetic waves.