Essay Example on Heat Transfer: Understanding Earth's Physical Composition and Processes

Introduction

Heat transfer takes place from the hottest to the coolest regions of the earth through the distinctive process. In an attempt to understand the process through which earth transmits heat, it is critical to establish comprehensive background information regarding the physical composition of earth based on its layers. It is also essential to describe distinctive processes of heat transfer based on the amount of heat it emits and the region at which the process takes place. Therefore, the primary purpose of this paper discusses three main methods of earth's heat transfer comprising radiation, conduction, convection, and the region or layers these processes take place.

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Earth's Composition

The earth comprises three distinctive layers; the core, crust, and mantle that makes it have three critical regions with different temperature conditions(Ricketts,2016). Besides, these layers also denote differences in matter composition, structure, and depths that contribute to variation in heat and temperature composition. Fgure1 below shows the internal earth's layers and its features that contribute to heat transfer.

The Earth's core is the inner layer with an approximate radius of 1,220 kilometers and made of molten iron alloys with a temperature not less than 4,700 degrees Celsius. The hot molten from the core is the responsible creation of a magnetic field and heat transfer. On above the Earth's core, the next layer is the mantle made of thick rock made of sublayers that notable for its temperature and pressure differences. It is in this region where the lithosphere and Asthenosphere resides. Finally, the Earth's Crust lies on the outer layer of the Earth and is more complex in composition and mostly made of granitic rock.

Processes of Heat Transfer on Earth's Layers

Convection

Convection is the movement that is produced inside a fluid by the tendency of hotter hence the less dense material rise and denser material sink; as a result of gravity, this consequently results in heat transfer (Nield & Bejan, 2017). Convection heat transfer takes place in the Earth's mantle and the Core. It results in the Earth's magnetic field creation. Medium or mode in which convection transfer of heat travels is its primary identifier. Though the flow of fluid (either in liquids or water or gases), as different from being transmitted via the adjacent atoms vibration. Until heat transfer has made a stable temperature, the hotter particles will always tend to move toward the cooler regions. The transferring of heat occurs due to the flow of convective cells (hot materials)

The demonstration of the process is by using boiling water a pot on the stovetop. The heat energy from the stovetop causes the vibration of the hotter water molecules to move toward the cooler particles within the pot; this reduces the water density. Hence water is forced to rise and finally settles after a total heat transfer within the pot has occurred, which creates a balance of temperature. The formation of the convection currents is due to the transfer of heat via hotter molecules in the Earth's Core within the Earth's mantle.

Conduction

The transmission of heat directly via the material of a substance in the presence of the temperature difference without the material movement is called conduction (Lienhard,2019). The conduction of the heat from the Earth's Core results from the Earth's Mantle hot temperatures.

The transmission of kinetic energy within particles to colder atoms from the hotter atoms is called thermal conduction. Showing the Thermal conduction is when pouring hot water into the cup at room temperature. In this process, the heat energy moves toward a cooler part from the hotter region of the origin. The hotter molecules vibrate, triggering the vibration of the neighboring atoms. The vibrating particle does not move away; however, they vibrate around. Geoscientists refer to the affected particles as the conduction molecules which occur inside the solid rock material. The solid rock material is inside Earth's Crust and Mantle (Dehant et.al., 2019)

Conduction can either occur in fluid or solid. The heat flow continues in this process, to cooler regions from the original warmer parts until the two regions balance in terms of temperature. The most straightforward demonstration of conduction can further is when touching a hot cup with cold hands, and the individual will feel warm. Significant of conduction is that it favors the transfer of heat with solids or among the solid entities in thermal contact

Radiation

According to radiation, or radiant heat transfer takes place through electromagnetic waves between two contact objects (Marshak,2015). Radiation heat energy occurs as a result of rotation and vibration of atoms within the molecular structure of which the amount of heat energy emitted depends on the composition of the Earth's layer. Regarding Earth's radiation, heat energy is emitted in the form of solar radiation that, in most cases, is the one that felt on Earth's surface.

The radiation process takes place on the Earth's crust, which is the outer layer. As stated earlier, radiant heat is transferred from one place to another through electromagnetic waves compared to convection and conduction that heavily depend on the interaction of the particles within the layers or regions it takes place(Sengupta,et.al.,2018). Regardless of the distance at which the heat energy needs to travel, the heat produced from solar radiation can be felt on the Earth's surfaces. Radiation heat takes in the atmosphere, and the sun is the primary source of the radiation heat and does not depend on solid objects to transmitted. The radiant heat, such as light, is the most significant Earth's heat to man and living organisms on the earth's surface since it promotes growth and development. In the green plant, radiation heat in the form of light is responsible for photosynthesis. In animals, sunlight provides vitamin D, which is a vital element for growth and development. As a result of climate change, this form of heat energy results in global warming on Earth.

In conclusion, radiation takes place on Earth's crust and travel long distance since it does not require in the solid body as a medium but only lies on electromagnetic waves. Conduction primarily takes place on Earth's mantle layer, while convection takes place in Earth's core, the hottest region. In terms of temperature and temperature, Heat produced by convection is the hottest since it takes place at the inner core.

References

Dehant, V., Debaille, V., Dobos, V., Gaillard, F., Gillmann, C., Goderis, S., ... & Morbidelli, A. (2019). Geoscience for understanding habitability in the solar system and beyond. Space science reviews, 215(6), 42. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11214-019-0608-8

Lienhard, J. H. (2019). A heat transfer textbook. Courier Dover Publications. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=gLK8DwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR5&dq=The+transmission+of+heat+directly+via+the+material+of+a+substance+in+the+presence+of+the+temperature+difference+without+the+material+movement+is+called+conduction&ots=RuhIc9OSei&sig=kXhKKZpLQxnlsro9eO0bKlYTi1M

Marshak, S. (2015). Earth: Portrait of a Planet: 5th International Student Edition. WW Norton & Company. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=2PcmCwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR14&dq=Earth:+Portrait+of+a+Planet+&ots=_y4RHJPgrD&sig=PVP-ATCuq5hx2Zz-vRG_kMI5bKE

Nield, D. A., & Bejan, A. (2017). Forced convection. In Convection in porous media (pp. 85-160). Springer, Cham. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-49562-0_4

Ricketts, B. (2016). Measures of Temperature in the Bowels of the Earth. Geological Digressions. Retrieved from http://www.geological-digressions.com/?p=824

Sengupta, M., Xie, Y., Lopez, A., Habte, A., Maclaurin, G., & Shelby, J. (2018). The national solar radiation data base (NSRDB). Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 89, 51-60. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S136403211830087X