APPLICATIONS OF THERMAL ENERGY

APPLICATION-CONDUCTION

• COOKING UTENSILS

cooking utensils such as kettles,saucepans,rice cooker,woks are usually made of aluminium or steel(conductor).metal conduct heat well,thus when direct heat is applied to the utensils,it will heat up very fast

• ELECTRICAL CABLES

electrical cables are made up of electirical wires which are usually made of copper and a rubber covering. the wires are made of copper(conductor) so as to conduct electricity well while the exterior is made of rubber(insulator),so as to prevent users from getting an electric shock

• WOOLLEN CLOTHES
  

wool is an insulator and it traps heat,thus it keeps us warm on cold days

APPLICATION-CONVECTION

• AIR CONDITIONERS
  

air conditioners are installed near the ceiling of a room to facilitate convection currents.the air becomes cooler when its near the air con and thus sink downwards while the warm air below rises due to a difference in density

• HEATER

heaters are installed/placed at the bottom of a room so that convection currents can be set up.when the air at the bottom is heated up,it rises,causing the cooler part of the air to sink downards due to a difference in density

• REFRIGERATOR

the freezing unit is usually placed at the top of the fridge to create convection currents.the cooled air at the top sinks while the warm air at the bottom rises


APPLICATION-RADIATION

• SOLAR PANELS
  

the surface of the solar panels are usually painted black so as to absorb as much heat from the sun as possible

• FIREMEN CLOTHES

firemen clothes are usually white,shiny and smooth.this ensures that the firemen do not absorb much of the heat from the fire

• GREENHOUSES

greenhouses are used in cold climates.greenhouses are made of glass,thus the infrared radiation from the sun passes into the greenhouses and these greenhouses traps most of the heat which will warm up the plants