Thermal conductors
I can use the idea of vibrating particles to explain heating by thermal conduction.
Thermal conductors
I can use the idea of vibrating particles to explain heating by thermal conduction.
These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- The temperature along a thermal conductor increases quickly when it is heated.
- The temperature along a thermal insulator increases very slowly when it is heated.
- In thermal conductors, vibrating particles quickly cause the particles near to them to vibrate as well.
- In thermal insulators, it is hard for vibrating particles to cause the particles near to them to vibrate as well.
Keywords
Thermal conduction - a change in temperature due to particles passing on their motion through their bonds or by particle collisions
Thermal conductor - a substance along which thermal conduction happens quickly
Thermal insulator - a substance along which thermal conduction happens slowly
Forces of attraction - hold together the neighbouring particles in a solid or liquid; these forces are weaker the further apart the particles are
Common misconception
Heat is a substance that flows through thermal conductors.
Emphasise that in a solid the particles do not move along the material during thermal conduction and that what we experience as ‘heat’ is particles in an object vibrating against our skin.
Licence
Lesson video
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