Convection

Convection

1. Convection occurs in fluids. Fluids are liquids and gases.

2. When a fluid is heated it expands. The fluid becomes less dense and rises.

3. The warm fluid is replaced by cooler, denser fluid. The resulting convection current transfers energy throughout the fluid.

4. Convection currents can be on a very small scale, such as heating water in a beaker or on a very large scale, such as heating the air above land and sea. Convection currents are responsible for onshore and offshore breezes.