convection
nounUK /kənˈvek.ʃən/
US /kənˈvek.ʃən/
Convection is how heat moves through air or water when the warm parts rise and the cool parts sink.
The heater warms the air near the floor, and convection carries that warmth up to the ceiling.
RELATED WORDS
OTHER MEANINGS
2. The movement of fluid caused by differences in temperature or density.
Scientists studied convection in the ocean to understand how deep water rises.
3. In weather, the rising of warm, moist air that can form clouds and storms.
Thunderstorms often form when strong convection pushes warm air high into the sky.
4. In geology, the slow churning of hot rock inside the Earth that moves continents.
Mantle convection is one reason the Earth's tectonic plates drift over time.