What makes convection super cool?? It happens all over the Earth! Convection occurs in our atmosphere, in our oceans and lakes and also deep in the Earth. Yes! Deep in the Earth, where rocks are....soft rocks...like magma.... Conduction requires particles touching each other to transfer heat and radiation doesn't need any particles, it just travels by waves through gases, liquids, solids and vacuums. Convection on the other hand needs a "medium". Not that kind of medium!! Medium as in liquids and gases! Convection happens when the "medium" is heated, like air for example. The air becomes less dense and rises above the heavier particles. Or, say liquid...the warm water will rise and stay on top of the more dense colder water. When the gas or liquid cools down it sinks back down into the coolness until it heats up again and the whole process cycles again and again. Whether in the mantle, the atmosphere or the ocean, convection occurs because there is a heat source, and the heat causes particles to spread apart, move more freely and rise above the colder, more tightly packed particles that aren't moving as freely. This system of moving heat is very efficient and moves heat energy all across the Earth. The Sun is the driver for a lot of atmospheric convection, and the core of the Earth is the driver for convection within the mantle. How do we use convection in our daily lives? I have some examples I could pull out of my hat.... Heating soup on the stove. I can hear you saying..."Mrs. Taylor has lost it this time....that pot is boiling soup everywhere!" I know that...if we look closer convection is happening in the pot of soup. A hot air balloon! The voices: Mrs. Taylor! That balloon is going to burn up!!! Hmmm, they don't burn up (well, maybe some do, but balloonists try not to burn up their fancy balloons...). The convection is inside the balloon. The hot air rises and as the balloon fills with hot air the cold, dense air is pushed out. Soon the balloon is less dense than the air around it on the outside and that's when you get lift! The Earth's mantle moves (causing earthquakes in specific places...). The mantle magma is moving at a ridiculous rate of speed in this gif, but you get the idea. This convection pattern can be found all over the place on Earth. This pattern is looked for on other planets as well. Scientists wonder if Earth is truly unique, or do we share the same kind of processes with other planets around us? Gotta go, I've got some cookies baking in my CONVECTION oven!!
11 Comments
Ryker Bement
3/14/2019 03:54:19 pm
A lot of that stuff was fun to watch while it was restarting, like the cookies.
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Michael Mandaa
3/14/2019 08:57:47 pm
dem cookies look fine nice, also i thought dat hot air ballloons rise cause of hellium
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bros
3/15/2019 07:43:11 am
stupid. Helium
OLIVER ROPER
3/14/2019 04:13:00 pm
RYKER didnt.claim first so I will. First! Those cookies looked pretty LIT. Hehehe hehehe
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Hiroto Steadman
3/19/2019 07:32:21 am
bro🤨😐😑
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Maddie
3/14/2019 04:39:01 pm
I would not want to touch magma. Watching those cookies was really cool!
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Audrey
3/14/2019 06:50:24 pm
The cookies that were rising was really cool looking........Now I'm hungry.
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Marcus Besaw
3/14/2019 07:50:53 pm
the moose was a little weird. I mean how does an rhino even fit in there?
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lalith
3/14/2019 08:36:35 pm
Those cookies make me hungry and that soup looks Indian!
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Andrew
3/15/2019 07:40:09 am
Lava is very hot in some ways.
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3/19/2019 07:30:30 am
the moose looked weird.the rhino looked unhappy. 😅😓🤓🐢
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Mrs. TaylorI love science! Everything about the world is interesting and never boring. I love to study plants, animals, insects, and people. My favorite subjects are my students who are the most unique organisms on the planet! Categories |