lämpöenergiassa

Lämpöenergia, often translated as thermal energy, refers to the internal energy of a system associated with the random motion of its constituent atoms and molecules. This energy is directly proportional to the temperature of the substance. When an object absorbs heat, its particles move faster, increasing its thermal energy. Conversely, when heat is lost, particle motion slows, and thermal energy decreases.

Thermal energy is a form of kinetic energy at the microscopic level. It is the sum of the kinetic energies of all the individual particles within a system. While temperature is a measure of the average kinetic energy of these particles, thermal energy represents the total kinetic energy. Therefore, a larger object at the same temperature as a smaller object will have more thermal energy due to having more particles.

Heat is the transfer of thermal energy from a region of higher temperature to a region of lower temperature. This transfer can occur through conduction, convection, or radiation. Thermal energy itself is not a transferable quantity; rather, it is the energy contained within a system. Understanding thermal energy is fundamental to thermodynamics, a branch of physics that deals with heat, work, temperature, and energy.