• Question: What happens in an object when it absorbs heat?

    Asked by rhooper821 to Ben, Dave, Ed, Sam, Susana on 19 Jun 2013.
    • Photo: Sam Horrell

      Sam Horrell answered on 19 Jun 2013:

      That depends a lot on the object. If it’s a metal the atoms inside will start to vibrate and they will pasee energy onto near by atoms that way. Eventually the energy will get high enough that the atoms will do more than vibrate then they’ll become a liquid. It’s a similar principle when a liquid becomes a gas. More heat means the atoms move faster and can eventually become a gas.

      If it’s something like wood, if it absorbs enough heat it will start a chemical reaction and burst into flames.

    • Photo: David Briggs

      David Briggs answered on 19 Jun 2013:

      The atoms in it start to vibrate more quickly – if this is a solid, and you keep adding more heat, eventually the atoms move around so quickly that the solid can no long hold it’s shape and it melts and becomes a liquid. If you keep adding more and more heat, the atoms move around so fast that they no longer need to stick together and the material boils and forms a gas.

    • Photo: Susana Teixeira

      Susana Teixeira answered on 19 Jun 2013:

      It uses it to go to higher energy states, often by increasing the vibration of its atoms. If you are in the presence of oxygen and there is enough heat to activate oxidation, it can burst into flames!

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