Heat Transfer

Abstract

Heat Transfer is a topic of theoretical physics and engineering physics, covered in many articles, journals, textbooks, and tables. This chapter explains the fundamentals of heat transfer as required for a general understanding of the thermal behavior of large and complex structures, like telescopes and enclosures, and as required for the construction of thermal models of such structures, either for design or operational purposes. While it is possible to summarize heat transfer in a general way, any specific heat transfer problem of mechanical structures may need the consultation of a specific thermal engineering textbook.