Direction of heat? Hot to cold Please explain.

AI Thread Summary
Heat flows from hot to cold, which is a fundamental principle in thermodynamics. This direction is driven by the natural tendency of systems to reach equilibrium and minimize energy differences. For example, a hot cup of coffee cools down as it transfers heat to its cooler surroundings, raising their temperature. This process reflects the broader concept that energy naturally disperses from areas of higher concentration to lower concentration. Understanding this principle is essential for grasping basic thermodynamic concepts.
Mallignamius
Messages
47
Reaction score
0
Direction of heat? "Hot to cold..." Please explain.

During a college prep class last year, my physics teacher said something about the direction of heat. He asked a student, "Which direction does heat go? From hot to cold, or cold to hot?" I'm pretty sure that's what he asked.

I wish I had spoken up, but I didn't. Now I'm stuck on this. Can you explain this "direction"?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
direction of flow of heat is from hot to cold conventionally .it is due to the reason that every system in nature tries to attain minimum energy.A hot cup of coffee gets cool after sometime or stated another way "the temperature of surronding rises".Its up to u how do u look at nature.
 
Kindly see the attached pdf. My attempt to solve it, is in it. I'm wondering if my solution is right. My idea is this: At any point of time, the ball may be assumed to be at an incline which is at an angle of θ(kindly see both the pics in the pdf file). The value of θ will continuously change and so will the value of friction. I'm not able to figure out, why my solution is wrong, if it is wrong .
TL;DR Summary: I came across this question from a Sri Lankan A-level textbook. Question - An ice cube with a length of 10 cm is immersed in water at 0 °C. An observer observes the ice cube from the water, and it seems to be 7.75 cm long. If the refractive index of water is 4/3, find the height of the ice cube immersed in the water. I could not understand how the apparent height of the ice cube in the water depends on the height of the ice cube immersed in the water. Does anyone have an...
Back
Top