14.6 Convection Convection is driven by large-scale flow of matter. In the case of Earth, the atmospheric circulation is caused by the flow of hot air from the tropics to the poles, and the flow of cold air from the poles toward the tropics. (Note that Earth's rotation causes the observed easterly flow of air in the northern hemisphere). Car engines are kept cool by the flow of water in the cooling system, with the water pump maintaining a flow of cool water to the pistons. The circulatory system is used the body: when the body overheats, the blood vessels in the skin expand (dilate), which increases the blood flow to the skin where it can be cooled by This OpenStax book is available for free at htp://cnx.org/content/col11406/1.9 Chapter 14 | Heat and Heat Transfer Methods 537 sweating. These vessels become smaller when it is cold outside and larger when it is hot (so more fluid flows, and more energy is transferred). The body also loses a significant fraction of its heat through the breathing process. While convection is usually more complicated than conduction, we can describe convection and do some straightforward, realistic calculations of its effects. Natural convection is driven by buoyant forces: hot air rises because density decreases as temperature increases. The house in Figure 14.17 is kept warm in this manner, as is the pot of water on the stove in Figure 14.18. Ocean currents and large-scale atmospheric circulation transfer energy from one part of the globe to another. Both are examples of natural convection. Hot air rises Air cooled by room sinks Gravity furnace Figure 14.17 Air heated by the so-called gravity fumace expands and rises, forming a convective loop that transfers energy to other parts of the room. As the air is cooled at the ceiling and outside walls, it contracts, eventually becoming denser than room air and sinking to the floor. A properly designed heating system using natural convection, like this one, can be quite efficient in uniformly heating a home. 00 Figure 14.18 Convection plays an important role in heat transfer inside this pot of water. Once conducted to the inside, heat transfer to other parts of the pot is mostly by convection. The hotter water expands, decreases in density, and rises to transfer heat to other regions of the water, while colder water sinks to the bottom. This process keeps repeating.