ABSTRACT
Heat transfer by the conduction mode occurs when heat is transferred within a material, or from one material to another. The energy transfer is postulated to occur because of kinetic energy exchange by elastic and inelastic collisions of atoms, and by electron drift. Heat energy is always transferred from a region of higher energy to an area of lower energy. The energy level, or temperature, of a material is related to the vibration level of the molecules within the substance. If the regions are at an equal temperature, no heat transfer occurs. Fourier's law can be used to predict the rate of heat transfer.1 The law suggests that the rate of heat transfer be proportional to the area of transfer times the temperature gradient dT/dx.
