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Triabolical_ t1_jal1i3n wrote

Reply to comment by Clavister in Ask Anything Wednesday - Physics, Astronomy, Earth and Planetary Science by AutoModerator

Radiation is all about bodies emitting photons, where the amount of energy depends upon how hot the body is. That's why fires feel warm, infrared heaters feel warm, and the sun feels warm.

Conduction is about direct heat transfer. Heat is just thermal movement of the atoms in a body, so put that in contact with a colder body and the hot atoms run into the colder atoms and make them move faster, transferring heat.

Convection is the same as conduction, except that the transfer is done through air.

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Clavister t1_jam4prp wrote

Right, I understand each individual phenomenon, but, for example, how does an entire atom moving faster result in the electron(s) of that atom emitting photons? And, conversely, how does a photon being absorbed by an electron become the entire atom vibrating with a little more energy? Shouldn't the electron receiving the photon just jump up a quantum level, then back down again when it in turn emits a photon, rather than any of that activity somehow making the entire atom vibrate more? This is what I'm missing...

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