Lighthouse Lab - Thermal Energy

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Thermal energy is the energy that comes from the temperature of an object. The higher the temperature of an object, the more thermal energy it has. Thermal energy can be used to do work, such as powering a machine, or it can be converted into other forms of energy, such as electricity, or heat.

Welcome back to the Lighthouse Lab! Today, I want to talk to you about a type of energy called thermal energy and how it moves and how it affects the temperature of an object.

You may recall that all matter is made up of tiny particles. Whether matter is in a solid, liquid or gas, these particles are always in motion. How much these particles move is called thermal energy and the more thermal energy an object has, higher its temperature.

Check out these three beakers of water. There is iced-water in Beaker A, warm tap water in Beaker B and hot water from a kettle in Beaker C.

We can use a thermometer to measure the temperature of the water in each beaker.

The water in Beaker A is 4 degrees celsius.

The water in Beaker B is 25 degrees celsius. It contains more thermal energy than the water in Beaker A.

The water in Beaker C is 60 degrees celsius. It is the hottest and contains the most thermal energy.

OK, so the more thermal energy an object has, the faster its particles are moving and the hotter it is. So when an object is heated, it gains thermal energy. In fact, the movement of thermal energy within an object is called heat and in matter heat always moves the same way. It moves from hot to cold. Let me show you an example.

Here we've got a metal rod attached to a retort stand. I'm going to heat the metal rod on this end using a burner. To observe how heat moves, I'm going to attach 3 candles to the metal rod.

Great!

Before I start....make a prediction. Which candle will melt and fall away first? Which one will be the last to fall? OK....let's find out!

I knew it! Thermal energy is moving from hot to cold. Its moving along the metal rod from here to here....and if that's the case then...yes! Just as I thought...and of course, there goes the last one.

So there you have it...when an object is heated, it gains thermal energy and its temperature increases and thermal energy moves in the direction of hot to cold.

Thanks for learning and I'll see you again soon in the Lighthouse Lab!

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