A piece of ice at 0 °C is placed on the palm of a person's hand. It soon begins to melt. Energy flows from the hand to the ice. In which direction does the ...
Question 1 Report
A piece of ice at 0 °C is placed on the palm of a person's hand. It soon begins to melt. Energy flows from the hand to the ice. In which direction does the temperature difference drive the energy transfer?
Answer Details
The fundamental principle of thermal energy transfer is that energy flows spontaneously from a region of higher temperature to a region of lower temperature. The hand is at body temperature (approximately 37 °C), while the ice is at 0 °C. Because the hand is warmer than the ice, thermal energy transfers from the hand to the ice.
This energy transfer is what causes the ice to melt: it receives the latent heat of fusion needed to change from solid to liquid. The transfer is not in both directions equally - net transfer is always from hot to cold. It does not bypass the hand through the air, and it certainly does not flow from the cold ice to the warm hand. Energy always flows down the temperature gradient until thermal equilibrium is reached.
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