What is "heat transfer"

n. The transmission of thermal energy via conduction, convection or radiation.

Heat transfer is the exchange of thermal energy between physical systems. The rate of heat transfer is dependent on the temperatures of the systems and the properties of the intervening medium through which the heat is transferred. The three fundamental modes of heat transfer are conduction, convection and radiation. Heat transfer, the flow of energy in the form of heat, is a process by which a system changes its internal energy, hence is of vital use in applications of the First Law of Thermodynamics. Conduction is also known as diffusion, not to be confused with diffusion related to the mixing of constituents of a fluid.

The direction of heat transfer is from a region of high temperature to another region of lower temperature, and is governed by the Second Law of Thermodynamics. Heat transfer changes the internal energy of the systems from which and to which the energy is transferred. Heat transfer will occur in a direction that increases the entropy of the collection of systems.

Thermal equilibrium is reached when all involved bodies and the surroundings reach the same temperature. Thermal expansion is the tendency of matter to change in volume in response to a change in temperature.