What is the process called that refers to the movement of energy from warmer to cooler objects?

The process of heat transfer is fundamental in understanding how energy moves between objects of different temperatures. Specifically, heat transfer describes the natural movement of thermal energy from a warmer body to a cooler one until thermal equilibrium is reached. This process occurs through three primary mechanisms: conduction, convection, and radiation.

In conduction, heat moves through direct contact between materials, as seen when a hot object transfers heat to a colder one through physical contact. Convection involves the movement of heat through fluids (liquids and gases) as they circulate, whereas radiation is the transfer of heat through electromagnetic waves, allowing heat to travel through a vacuum.

While thermodynamics is the broader study of energy and its transformations, including the principles governing heat transfer, it does not specify the movement of energy between objects. Energy conservation involves the principle that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed from one form to another, and it does not address the specific mechanism of heat movement. Heat conduction, while a key aspect of heat transfer, describes only one of the methods through which heat can be transferred, not the overall process itself. Thus, heat transfer is the most accurate term to describe the movement of thermal energy from warmer to cooler objects.