Consider touching a metal spoon that’s been sitting in a hot cup of coffee. The spoon feels warm because heat has transferred from the hot coffee to the cooler spoon. This transfer of heat occurs through conduction, where heat energy is passed from one molecule to another within a material. Metals are good conductors of heat, meaning they transfer heat quickly. Which statement best describes the process of conduction?
A) Conduction is the transfer of heat by the movement of fluids like air or water.
B) Conduction involves heat transfer through the vacuum of space.
C) Conduction is the transfer of heat between molecules in direct contact with each other.
D) Conduction only occurs in liquids, not in solids or gases.