Thermal Equilibrium
Definition
A state reached when two objects connected by a path for heat transfer have equal temperatures and there's no net flow of thermal energy between them.
Analogy
Picture two cups of coffee sitting next to each other on your kitchen counter. If one cup was hotter than the other initially, after some time they'll both reach an equal temperature because heat from the hotter cup will move to cooler one until they balance out - that's thermal equilibrium!
Related terms
Heat Transfer: The movement of thermal energy from one thing to another thing of different temperature. Like passing hot gossip around school until everyone knows it!
Conduction: Heat transfer through direct contact, like when you touch something hot and feel its warmth.
Convection: Heat transfer through fluid motion, such as boiling water moving around in a pot.
"Thermal Equilibrium" appears in:
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