The Relation of Heat to Kinetic Theory of Matter - Essay Example

The study is heat is related to the kinetic theory of matter as heat is a process in which, thermal energy shifts from one object to the other and the movement of molecules gets faster with the shifting of thermal energy. It means that the movement of molecules or atoms becomes more when there is more heat. Molecules or atoms have energy preserved in them. They have potential energy, as well as kinetic energy, and these energies together, form thermal energy. Thermal energy moves from an object with having high temperature to an object with having low temperature and with this movement (Maxwell, 1871), the movement of molecules or atoms also gets faster. The object having high temperature will have fast-moving molecules or atoms. Therefore, it is quite clear that the study of heat is related to the kinetic theory of matter.
2. What is temperature?
Heat is a process in which, thermal energy shifts from an object of high temperature to an object of low temperature. Heat is not pre-located in the matter. It is created and can be noticed as a shifting of thermal energy between objects based on the temperature differences between the objects. There can be many examples of heat. When we touch a hot surface, the thermal energy shifts from the hot surface to our hand due to which, we feel the heat as there is a temperature difference between the hot surface and our hand, which on touching shifts. In this way, we can say that temperature is the measure of heat energy. With the help of a temperature scale, we can estimate the degree of hotness or coldness of the surrounding atmosphere or any object.
3. What is the relationship between heat and temperature?
While heat is a form of energy that can be converted to any other form, temperature is only an effect caused by heat. However, both the quantities of heat and temperature are directly proportional to each other. If one quantity rises the other also varies directly, if one lowers the other quantity lowers too. The more the amount of heat the more will be the kinetic energy of molecules while temperature is the measure of the degree of motion of particles in a system.
4. What are the various properties of a substance that determine its heat capacity?
The most important factor that determines the heat capacity of a substance is the energy state of the molecules of the substance which is the direct measure of the heat capacity of a substance. The difference in the heat capacities of the two substances is due to the difference in the molecular energy state of the two substances (Hagg, 2011). The other factors that determine the heat capacity of the material are the pressure, composition of the substance, and temperature. Pressure makes the molecules to be close to each other which makes the molecules collide more repetitively that increasing the average kinetic energy of the molecules and changing the energy state of the material. Under pressure, the three states of matter behave differently (Belzer, 2011). Gasses are most influenced by the pressure and temperature while solids gave little impact when they are under pressure as the molecules are close enough in the solids. As the temperature of the substance is raised the bond between the molecules weakens and the matter changes its state, as solids when heated to a certain temperature melt to a liquid form and liquids change to gaseous form when heated to a certain temperature. The composition of the material can change its heat capacity by altering the energy states of the material.
5. What are the various sources of heat?
There are many sources of heat. The most common source of heat energy that the entire human race can access is the Sun.

Water heating and cooking also utilized the process of combustion (Charmaine, 2012). Sometimes the methods are utilized to attain light. Electricity is the third most common source to attain heat. When electricity is passed through a resistive coil it generates heat energy. Some other methods like microwaves, etc are also utilized to convert the electricity into heat. Friction is also a source of heat that produces heat when two uneven surfaces interact with each other and one surface tries to glide over the other surface. The heat in the moving past is the result of friction that can be minimized by lubricating the surfaces. Earth is also a source of heat as the inner part of the earth is still a hot magma and sometimes the water over the tectonic plates is heated through hot magma. An electrical power generation system the make that utilizes the earth’s heating to generate electrical energy is the geothermal power plant. Read More