convection
Convection (noun) means the transfer of heat through a liquid or gas by the movement of the fluid itself, as warmer, less dense parts rise and cooler parts sink to replace them. Example: “Convection carries warm air from the radiator up to the ceiling.”
How to Use Convection
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishHeat moving around because warm air or water rises and cool air or water sinks.
Physics, meteorology and cookery.
Do not confuse convection with convention — one letter apart, entirely different words.
Trace the full origin ↓Fill the Gap
Can you complete this real example?
_____ carries warm air from the radiator up to the ceiling.
Etymology
From Latin convectio, from convehere "to carry together", from con- "together" and vehere "to carry".
Synonyms
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Rhymes for convection
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between conduction, convection and radiation?
Conduction moves heat through direct contact between particles, so it dominates in solids. Convection moves heat by carrying the hot fluid itself from place to place, so it needs a liquid or gas. Radiation moves heat as electromagnetic waves and needs no medium at all — it is how the Sun reaches us.
Is a convection oven the same as a fan oven?
Yes. Convection oven is the usual American name and fan oven the usual British one for the same appliance: a fan circulates the hot air so that heat reaches the food from all sides. Recipes normally advise dropping the temperature by about 20°C compared with a conventional oven.
Can convection happen in a solid?
Not in the strict sense, because convection requires material to flow. Solid rock in the Earth's mantle is a special case: over millions of years it deforms slowly enough to behave like an extremely viscous fluid, and geologists do speak of mantle convection.