Thermal Energy Vocabulary Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering core terms, heat transfer methods, systems, and properties of thermal energy from the lecture notes.

Thermal conductor

A material through which thermal energy flows easily.

Thermal insulator

A material through which thermal energy does not flow easily.

Open system

A system that exchanges matter or energy with the environment.

Closed system

A system that does not exchange matter or energy with environment.

Source object

The object that provides energy for energy transfer.

Receiver object

The object that gains energy from the energy transfer.

Heat

The transfer of thermal energy from a region of higher temperature to a region of lower temperature. Heat can also refer to the amount of energy transferred during this process.

Conduction

The transfer of thermal energy by collisions between particles of matter.

Thermal equilibrium

When the temperatures of materials that are in contact are the same.

Radiation

The transfer of thermal energy from one material to another by electromagnetic waves.

Convection

The transfer of thermal energy by the movement of particles from one part of a material to another.

Specific heat

The amount of thermal energy it takes to increase the temperature of $1\,kg$ of a material by $1\,^\circ\text{C}$.