HEAT AND WAVES
Relation between Celsius and Kelvin - 273.15ºC temperature = 0 Kelvin
SI unit of Temperature measurement - Kelvin
Absolute temperature - also thermodynamic temperature - the temperature of an object on a scale
where 0 is taken as absolute zero. Absolute temperature scale is Kelvin
The absolute zero temperature is 0˚C - 273˚Celsius
Freezing point of water = 273.15 K on the Kelvin scale | 32˚F on Fahrenheit Scale | 0˚C
At 4ºC water has maximum density and minimum volume
Boiling Point of pure water = 100˚C
Physical state of water at 12° Celsius - Liquid
The physical state of water at 257˚C is a gaseous state
Normal temperature of a healthy human body Fahrenheit 98.6ºF Celsius 37ºC Kelvin 310.15K
Cryogenics - the study of the production and behaviour of material at very low temperature (≈ 150˚C)
Centigrade - the mother's unit of temperature - named on Andres Celsius
Andres Celsius - Swedish astronomer, Physicist and Mathematician - proposed the Celsius
temperature scale in 1742
THERMAL CONDUCTION
Rate of heat transfer by conduction depends on the temperature difference, the size of area and
thermal properties - does not depend on the friction
Radiation - heat transfer is not related with any contact between the heat source and the heated object
- depends on nature of the body, its temperature and kind and extent of its surface
Convection - the main reason for heat transfer between fluid and gas
Woolen clothes keep the body warm - Wool is filled with air in its narrow holes - which is bad conductor
of heat, due to which there is no loss of body heat
Heat transfer within steam boiler furnaces is accomplished by the three methods:
Radiation Heating surface in the furnace area receives heat primarily by radiation
Conduction Heat receives by the heating surface travels through the metal by conduction
Convection Heat is then transferred from the metal to the water by convection
1
DISHA ACADEMY FOR COMPETITIVE EXAMS | TRIVANDRUM | KOTTARAKKARA | CALICUT | KOLLAM
CONDUCTOR/NON-CONDUCTOR/INSULATOR
The materials through which the electric charge flows easily are called conductors
A Conductor having infinite electrical conductivity will always be said to be a prefect conductor
Wood is a bad conductor of heat
Insulators - materials that resist relatively electric current and the flow of heat, or through which very
little current or heat flow in the same conditions
Wood, Bakelite, Ceramic, Paper, PVC etc. are some examples of non-conductor
Borosilicate glassware is used in microwave ovens because it is highly heat resistant
Graphite is a good conductor of electricity.
Graphite - non-metallic - unique structure - The fourth valence electron of each atom
makes graphite the best conductor of electricity
Due to the presence of electron in an object, it becomes a conductor of electricity
Silver is the best conductor of electricity
Ceramic - used in making utensils, bowls, plates, hospital items, electric separators, spark plugs of
motor vehicles, etc. - not a good conductor of electricity
Silver, copper, gold and aluminium is that they are all good conductors of electricity
Thermal conductivity of a solid metal with increasing with decrease in temperature Kmetal ∝
Thermal conductivity of gas increases with increase temperature
K gas ∝ T : T = temperature Kgas ∝ : M = molecular mass
√
Thermal insulation - the reduction of heat transfer between objects, in thermal contact or range of
reductive influence.
Plastic, ebonite, paper, cotton, Bakelite, dry air and rubber are the most heat resistant
Pb and Hg are comparatively bad conductors of heat
A thermistor is a temperature sensitive resistor, they are often used as temperature sensor, the term
thermistor is a combination of the words "thermal" and "resistor"
Cooling of anybody or substance in the atmosphere is based on Newton's Cooling Law
Black surfaces are excellent absorbers of radiation and help in trapping more heat inside a solar
cooker
A solid has a melting point it is the temperature at which the solid melts from its solid state to a liquid
state
The temperature at which the state of a substance changes from liquid state to solid state is called
freezing point.
Latent heat of liquefaction is the amount of heat gained by a solid object to convert it into a liquid
without any increase in temperature or pressure.
2
DISHA ACADEMY FOR COMPETITIVE EXAMS | TRIVANDRUM | KOTTARAKKARA | CALICUT | KOLLAM
Most substances contract when they are cooled, but water expands on solidifying. Due to this
expansion a glass bottle completely filled with water and tightly closed at room temperature is likely
to burst at freezing temperature
Change of an element or a compound from a liquid state to a gaseous state – evaporation
The high evaporation occur at high temperature and low evaporation occur at lower temperature
Evaporation - the process of converting a liquid into its vapour form on its surface
During evaporation, the molecules with kinetic energy dissipate into air from the topmost layer of the
liquid so it is a surface phenomenon - evaporation takes place from the surface
The branch of physics related to heat is called thermodynamics
According to Joule's law of heating, heat produced in a resistor is directly proportional to square of
flowing current in it indirectly proportional to the resistance of the resistor directly proportional to time
for which current flows through the conductor or resistor
Devices which work on Joule's law of heating are electric heater, electric bulb, electric iron etc.
Electric plugs and switches do not work on Joule's law of heating
Heat is not directly related to the measurement of thermal energy, rather the motion of molecules and
heat transferred through electromagnetic waves and thermodynamic properties of substances are
directly related to heat
In steady state heat flow means that the rate of heat flow is constant, or the heat flow is not based on
time
Evaporation - a slow process where liquid turn into vapour and boiling means rapid vaporization of
any liquid
Evaporation takes place to vaporize same quantity of liquid
Thermodynamic Zero Law states that if two system are in thermal equilibrium with the third system,
they will also be in thermal equilibrium with each other
When water is heated from 0˚C to 4°C, its volume decreases because its density increases
The density of water is maximum at 4˚C and after 4°C its volume increases
Tendency of entropy of the universe is maximum.
Entropy of the universe always increases because the heat of all the source goes into the atmosphere,
which increases its entropy daily.
In a thermodynamic system the heat balance is achieve when two bodies reach at the same
temperature.
An isochoric process, also called a constant volume process. In a isochoric process volume of the
system remains constant V = constant
3
DISHA ACADEMY FOR COMPETITIVE EXAMS | TRIVANDRUM | KOTTARAKKARA | CALICUT | KOLLAM
Enthalpy - the amount of total heat = product of pressure (P) and volume (V) H = U + PV
and the sum of internal energy (U)
Entropy, the measure of a system's thermal energy per unit temperature that is available for doing
useful work
According to the Energy Conservation Principle, energy neither be created nor destroyed, it can only
be converted from one form to another.
In thermodynamics, the relationship between heat and other forms and functions of energy is studied
The first law of thermodynamics (Law of conservation of energy) states that, the energy is always
conserved, it neither be created nor destroyed, it can only be converted or transformed one form to
another
WAVE
Two types of mechanical waves:
Transverse Waves
In transverse waves, the vibration of the particles of the medium are perpendicular to the direction of
transmission the propagation of the wave
Some examples of transverse waves are: the ripples on the surface of the water, the secondary waves
of an earthquake, electromagnetic waves, the waves on a string, the ocean waves etc.
Longitudinal Waves
In a longitudinal wave, the vibration of the particles of the medium are parallel to the direction of
transmission the propagation of the wave
The particles in the wave do not move along with the wave though; they simply oscillate back and
front about their own equilibrium
Examples are sound waves in air, the primary waves of an earthquake, ultrasound, the vibration in a
spring, the fluctuations in a gas, tsunami waves etc
Electromagnetic spectrum consists of radio waves, microwaves, infrared waves, visible spectrum,
ultraviolet waves, X-rays and Gamma rays.
Electromagnetic spectrum does not include ultrasound
Waves and uses
Electromagnetic waves Wavelength in (m) Uses
Radio waves 1 x 10-1 to 104 m Used in cellular phones, TV and
Radio wave transmission
Microwaves 1 x 10-3 to 3 x 10-1 m Used in sending information from
radars and satellites
Infrared waves 7.8 x 10-7 to 1 x 10-3 m Used in remote control and
fomenting of patients
Gamma rays 10-14 to 10-10 m Used medicine to destroy the cancer cells
4
DISHA ACADEMY FOR COMPETITIVE EXAMS | TRIVANDRUM | KOTTARAKKARA | CALICUT | KOLLAM
X-rays are a form of electromagnetic radiation, similar to visible light
Unlike light, however, X-rays have higher energy and can pass through most objects, including the
body
X-rays radiation - referred to Rontgen radiation, after the German scientist Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen
- discovered - 1895
X-rays have a wavelength in the range of 0.01–10 nm
Visible radiation - discovered by Isaac Newton - ranges from 390-780 nano metres (nm)
Sound wave is not an electromagnetic wave - It is a mechanical wave - longitudinal wave
When sound wave propagates, particles of the medium oscillate along the direction of propagation of
the wave
Purple colour has a shortest wavelength and red has the longest wavelength
While the highest frequency is of purple and least of red colour in the visible light of spectrum
The distance between two consecutive crests of a wave, or the distance between two consecutive
compressions in a longitudinal wave - wavelength
Wavelength is usually denoted by the Greek letters lambda (λ)
Wavelength = the speed (V) of wave in a medium divided by its frequency (f) λ = V/f
The rate of movement of a wave - wave velocity Wave Velocity = frequency × wavelength = f λ
If the frequency of a wave increases, then its wave-length will decreases
Wavelength and frequency of a wave are inversely proportional to each other, wavelength is directly
proportional to the velocity of wave
The wavelength of a sound wave that has a low frequency will have the highest wavelength
Velocity = 2 frequency × [∵ if wavelength is halved and frequency is doubled]
∴ velocity remains constant
Frequency, amplitude and wavelength are the characteristic of wave
Medium is not a characteristic of wave and height does not describes the nature of a wave
Dilution occurs where there is air pressure is low.
The dilution end on where the pressure of air is high, there is the denser medium (air)
Compression - the region of high pressure and high density in the air
Ultrasonography or sonography - medical diagnosis - technique based on the ultrasonic wave –
provides information about the health of the foetus in pregnancy
Frequency refers to the number of occurrences of a vibration event per second
Frequency is reciprocal of the time period f =
Number of oscillations made per unit time of a sound wave is called the frequency of the sound wave
5
DISHA ACADEMY FOR COMPETITIVE EXAMS | TRIVANDRUM | KOTTARAKKARA | CALICUT | KOLLAM
Light waves are electromagnetic waves while sound wave are mechanical waves
Light waves are transverse while sound waves are longitudinal waves
Light waves can travel in vacuum but sound waves requires a material medium. So sound waves
cannot travel in vacuum
Sound produced by radio increases by the increase in its amplitude
The amplitude of the wave is the maximum distance travelled by the particles of the medium on either
side from the central space (up or down)
Sound waves can be described by fine characteristics i.e. wavelength, amplitude, time-period,
frequency and wave-velocity
When a vibrating object that produces sound in a medium then the sound produced by it when it
moves forward in the medium then a high-pressure field is produced in the medium. This high-
pressure area is called compression, the range of compression and spill transmits the moving sound
in the medium to our ears
X-rays are used in hospitals whereas electromagnetic waves are also used for MRI and CT scanning
British astronomer - William Herschel discovered infra-red light in 1800 - according to NASA
Infra-red - a type of electromagnetic radiation
From highest to lowest frequency, electromagnetic radiation includes gamma-rays, X-rays, ultraviolet
radiation, visible light, infra-red radiation, microwaves and radio waves. Together, these types of
radiation make up the electromagnetic spectrum
UV radiation is harmful as continuous exposure to these will result in skin and eye disease. It also
results in the aging of the skin - it is the best source of natural vitamin D
UV rays have a shorter wavelength range than visible light and therefore cannot be seen by human
beings
6
DISHA ACADEMY FOR COMPETITIVE EXAMS | TRIVANDRUM | KOTTARAKKARA | CALICUT | KOLLAM