What happens when you put an ice cube in a glass of warm tea?
When you put an ice cube in a glass of warm tea, heat flows from the tea into the ice cube. Heat transfer is the process by which thermal energy moves from an object with a higher temperature to an object with a lower temperature until both objects reach a state of thermal equilibrium. In this case, the warm tea has a higher temperature than the ice cube, so heat flows from the tea to the ice cube.
Heat Transfer in Putting an Ice Cube in Warm Tea
When the ice cube is placed in the warm tea, the two objects come into contact. The molecules in the tea have more thermal energy (higher temperature) compared to the molecules in the ice cube. As a result, the tea transfers some of its thermal energy to the ice cube, causing the ice cube to heat up.
Ice Melting Process
As the ice cube absorbs heat energy from the tea, it gains thermal energy, and this causes the ice to melt. The heat from the tea breaks the intermolecular bonds holding the water molecules together in the ice, causing the ice to transition from a solid state to a liquid state.
Tea Cooling Down
On the other hand, the tea loses heat energy as it transfers it to the ice cube. This heat loss results in the tea cooling down.
Therefore, in this scenario, heat flows from the tea into the ice cube, causing the ice cube to melt, and coldness is not a substance that can flow. Rather, it is the transfer of heat (temperature) between the objects.