Heat transfer physics Heat transfer physics Heat transfer physics describes the kinetics of energy storage, transport, and energy transformation by principal energy carriers: phonons (lattice vibration waves), electrons, fluid particles, and photons. Heat is energy stored in temperature-dependent motion of particles including electrons, atomic nuclei, individual atoms, and molecules. Heat is transferred to and from matter by the principal energy carriers. The state of energy stored within matter, or transported by the carriers, is described by a combination of classical and quantum statistical mechanics. The energy is also transformed (converted) among various carriers. The heat transfer processes (or kinetics) are governed by the
Comparison of chemistry and physics studies the properties of matter at a larger scale (for example, astrochemistry) and the reactions of matter at a larger scale (for example, technical chemistry), but typically, explanations and predictions are related back to the underlying atomic structure, giving more emphasis on the methods for the identification of molecules and their mechanisms of transformation than any other science. Although both physics and chemistry are concerned with matter and its interaction with energy, the two disciplines differ in approach. In physics, it is typical to abstract from the specific type of matter, and to focus on the common properties of many