What is a convection current meaning?
1a : a stream of fluid propelled by thermal convection. b : thermally produced vertical air flow. 2 : a surface charge of electricity on a moving body — compare convection sense 3c.
How do convection currents form in air?
Convection currents form because a heated fluid expands, becoming less dense. The less-dense heated fluid rises away from the heat source. For instance, a hot radiator heats the air immediately around it. The air rises toward the ceiling, pulling cooler air down from the ceiling into the radiator to be heated.
What is convective air?
Convection – When warm, moist air near the surface rises to be above the heavier cool, dry air this is a form of heat transfer or convection. The rising motion typically cools the air. As the air cools, it reaches the dewpoint and all of the moisture in the air condenses– forming clouds.
Which event is part of a convection current in the air?
A simple example of convection currents is warm air rising toward the ceiling or attic of a house. Warm air is less dense than cool air, so it rises. Wind is an example of a convection current. Sunlight or reflected light radiates heat, setting up a temperature difference that causes the air to move.
What are convection currents and what causes them?
Convection currents are movements caused by temperature changes in liquid or gaseous bodies. In such bodies, warmer material tends to rise, displacing cooler matter, which is circulated elsewhere; the continuous movement created by this process is known as a convection cell.
What are 5 facts about convection currents?
Vertical circulation within a fluid that results from density differences caused by temperature variations. In meteorology, the process in which air, having been warmed close to the ground, rises. Within the Earth, the radiogenic heat release results in convective motions causing tectonic plate movements.
Why do convection currents rise in air?
Convection currents are defined as room air rising and cold air sinking by the Children’s Museum of Houston, on CDM.org. The main reason that hot air rises is because sinking cold air pushes it up. However, other things like mountain slopes can also cause hot air to rise.
What are the effects of convection currents?
Among their various other effects, convection currents are also responsible for earthquakes and seismic activity. The Earth’s surface is made up of a series of solid land masses floating on currents of liquefied rock.