Introduction
Thermal energy is made up of the combined potential energy and the kinetic energy that is due to the vibration of the
particles within the object. Particles can:
- rotate
- translate (move back and forward)
- vibrate (atoms move back and forward within the molecule)
The particles within objects with higher temperatures have a higher average kinetic energy.
Thus what we measure and call 'temperature' in celsius or kelvin is the average movement of the particles in a material
Since temperature is a measure of the movement of particles, it must have both a maximum and minimum value:
- Atomic particles can slow down, but they can't go slower than 'stopped'. Thus the minimum temperature is
when all of the particles are motionless. This is called absolute zero (0K or -273 degrees celsius). For various reasons
this cannot be reached, but experiments have gotten incredibly close.
- Atomic particles can also get faster and faster, but they cannot go faster than the speed of light, so once again, we
have a theoretical maximum temperature.
When a hotter object is put into contact with a cooler object, some of the thermal energy transfers from the hotter
object to the cooler one. This flow of energy is referred to as ‘heat’. The transfer cannt go in the other direction.
If the objects remain in contact, then eventually the objects will reach the same temperature, putting the objects into
‘thermal equilibrium’.
videos
Can humas really feel temperature, Minute physics
Misconceptions about temperature, Veritasium
What exactly is temperature, Science asylum
Lord Kelvin, Scottish Science
Thermodynamics, Crash Course
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