Science & Nature

Hot plates, whether used for food preparation or lab experiments, can be dangerous heat sources if you don't familiarize yourself with the safety precautions associated with their use. To ensure...

Metal objects can be heated by magnetic induction. This method, called induction heating, has been used successfully in industry, research and home kitchens. Heat can be generated precisely and...

The caloric and kinetic theories were two opposing understandings of heat. The kinetic theory replaced the caloric theory when experiments and observations disproved the caloric theory.

Any electrical circuit generates heat. This heat is the result of current flowing through a resistance, and this phenomenon is found in toasters, light bulbs and high-voltage power...

Solar water heaters and heat pumps are devices used to conserve energy spent heating water in the house. Normally, a large amount of energy needs to be spent to run the heating elements or gas...

An induction heating device can seem mysterious. It creates heat while remaining cool to the touch. Induction heating devices have been incorporated into residential, commercial and industrial...

Induction heating can be used to heat homes and cook meals. It offers advantages of other methods of heating like convection, radiant and open flame. It offers consistent heat quickly. It can...

Water is one of the most important substances for humans. It is said that humans can survive three weeks without food, but only three days without water. No matter where you are in the world, you...

Heating elements are available using both single phase and three phase power sources, but the most powerful heating elements are usually based in three phase systems. The reason is connected with...

In the atomic world, heat can be equated with energy. Some elements give off energy very well--they are good conductors. Others are very poor at giving off energy--they are good insulators. Since...

Solar energy collectors have been in common use since the 1890s. A solar collector in a sunny spot has been used to heat water or make electricity. The limitation has always been times when the...

Infrared radiation and convection are two common forms of heat transfer. Infrared radiation is a form of invisible light--or electromagnetic radiation--that's emitted by objects cooler than the...

Hummingbirds are frequently admired and sought after for their enchanting colors as well as the charming way they dart about. They prefer to feed from certain types of flowers such as such as...

Thermal fuses are also known as thermal cutoffs. Their job is to protect sensitive electronic equipment from damaging bursts of heat. They are used only in equipment that naturally generates heat,...

The compressor is one of the most important parts of the air conditioning system. Air conditioners work using the laws of thermal energy and heat transfer. The medium by which heat is moved around...

Photovoltaic solar panels absorb and transform sunlight to direct electrical current. Passive solar panels and absorbers lack the intensity necessary to transform light and heat into electricity;...

The resistance of a wire refers to the ease at which current is able to flow through it. A wire with a higher degree of resistance will not perform as efficiently as a wire with less resistance.

"Summer" is naturally a flexible term when speaking about ecosystems, which can exist in a variety of different climates where summers may be wildly different from each other. In some places...

Infrared heating elements are designed to turn an electrical current into infrared rays, usually by running the current through specially prepared resistors. Once created, the infrared rays can be...

Chemical heat packs can be used to apply heat to specific areas on the body to help with pain and injury recovery. They are most popular in sporting events where athletes suffer from various...

Heat content, measured in BTU, will vary between woods of different density and water content.

A cold heat soldering iron melts solder--a metal used to hold connections on a circuit board. But instead of plugging into a wall like traditional soldering irons, it uses batteries, and unlike...

There are many variations in firewood. These variations are helpful to know if you intend to cook on an open flame, or if you are using a fireplace or wood stove for heat. Knowing a few facts...

Incubators are important tools for raising healthy chickens or other fowl. They allow large numbers of eggs to be kept warm and safe until they are able to hatch. There are a lot of incubators...

Trees, shrubs and vines---all woody plants---capture energy from sunlight through photosynthesis. These woody plants provide many benefits to mankind such as food and building materials, but we...

Soapstone is a popular type of carving and decorative stone made of several different minerals. It has been used throughout history as a sculpting material, and today is processed as a stone...

Issues regarding non-renewable and polluting fossil fuels versus alternative sources of energy have been debated regularly for many years now. Solar energy is always mentioned in energy debates as...

Every natural disaster has risks associated with it. Knowing the risks and being properly prepared for them decreases fatalities and injuries. The American Red Cross offers information on CPR,...

Heat transfers from object to object in one of three ways: conduction, convection and radiation. Conduction is transfer by contact. Convection is transfer by a fluid in motion. Radiation...

With the advent of World War II, manufacturing environments developed a new process for heating metal materials to meet the wartime demand for engine parts. Heat induction treatments soon became...

If you rub your hands together for several seconds, you'll notice that your hands feel warm. That warmth is caused by a force called friction. When objects like your hands come in contact and move...

Diamonds are among the world's most admired gemstones, and the flash and twinkle they give off can render people speechless. But good looks are just one of this mineral's many qualities. Holding...

Alternative power sources such as solar and wind are being developed because they reduce pollution and green-house gas emissions while increasing the United State's energy independence. A major...

Heat (or enthalpy) of vaporization is the energy needed to transform one mole of substance into gas. The heat of vaporization can be found using the Clausius-Clapeyron equation if the vapor...

Compressed gases are gases that have compacted down into a smaller space than they usually inhabit. This causes the molecules of the gas to move close together, vibrating and bouncing off each...

Everyone knows that the sun rises every morning and sets every night, but not as many people know just how important the sun is to us. It's actually a star--closer to Earth than any other star,...

Soapstone, also known as steatite, can be found all over the world. Much of the soapstone seen these days comes from Brazil, China or India. Significant deposits also exist in Australia and...

Solar energy is light from the sun harnessed by human technology to help power various systems. Normally, sunlight is used by plants during photosynthesis to created needed energy, but the...

Energy is in the form of potential or kinetic. Potential energy is the form that is stored and not in use. For instance, a compressed spring that is ready to be released has potential energy....

Two standard experiments are used to demonstrate Newton's law of cooling. One is to heat a thermometer, and then note the rate at which the temperature drops as it cools. Another is to heat a...

Thermal conductivity is the transfer of heat across a medium. It is a very common phenomenon that is, fortunately, simple and safe enough to be experimented on easily. With only a few simple...

With so many people attempting to "go green" and protect the environment, a debate about which form of household heating is better has begun. The two options being discussed are electric heating...

Heat transfer is the movement of heat from a hotter object to a colder object. Heat itself is how we experience molecular vibrations. Faster vibrations feel hotter to the touch. There are three...

Neodymium magnets are magnets made with rare-earth materials, usually neodymium, iron and boron. They are very powerful and exciting devices with which to experiment.

The kinetic theory of gases is a theory that gases consist of small particles in random motion. Thermal conductivity is the property of a material that indicates its ability to conduct heat. The...

Transfer paper is used for moving an image from one material to another. The image is printed on the paper and then, through application of heat or a solvent such as water, the image can be...

Heat is a form of energy. It is transferred from warm places to cooler places. So easily, in fact, that people spend a great deal of money and effort trying to keep it in their homes in winter,...

Heat transfer is the transition of thermal energy from a hotter object to a cooler object. Heat is how we experience on a macro level the vibrational motion of molecules' thermal energy. The...

Certain physical laws make it possible to light a fire using a magnifying glass or other lens.

Water in water coolers is kept cold in the exact way as nearly all refrigerators and air conditioners--through the use of a heat pump. A heat pump moves a liquid, called refrigerant, through a...