Heat transfer is a discipline of thermal engineering

Thermal engineering

Heating or cooling of processes, equipment, or enclosed environments are within the purview of thermal engineering.One or more of the following disciplines may be involved in solving a particular thermal engineering problem:*Thermodynamics*Fluid mechanics...

 that concerns the exchange of thermal energy

Thermal energy

Thermal energy is the part of the total internal energy of a thermodynamic system or sample of matter that results in the system's temperature....

 from one physical system to another. Heat transfer is classified into various mechanisms, such as heat conduction

Heat conduction

In heat transfer, conduction is a mode of transfer of energy within and between bodies of matter, due to a temperature gradient. Conduction means collisional and diffusive transfer of kinetic energy of particles of ponderable matter . Conduction takes place in all forms of ponderable matter, viz....

, convection

Convection

Convection is the movement of molecules within fluids and rheids. It cannot take place in solids, since neither bulk current flows nor significant diffusion can take place in solids....

, thermal radiation

Thermal radiation

Thermal radiation is electromagnetic radiation generated by the thermal motion of charged particles in matter. All matter with a temperature greater than absolute zero emits thermal radiation....

, and phase-change transfer. All forms of heat transfer may occur in some systems (for example, in transparent fluids like the Earth's atmosphere

Atmosphere

An atmosphere is a layer of gases that may surround a material body of sufficient mass, and that is held in place by the gravity of the body. An atmosphere may be retained for a longer duration, if the gravity is high and the atmosphere's temperature is low...

) at the same time. Heat transfer only occurs because of a temperature-difference driving force and heat flows from the high to the low temperature region.

Heat conduction, also called diffusion, is the direct microscopic exchange of kinetic energy of particles through the stationary boundary between two systems. Heat conduction occurs between stationary masses where there is no movement to carry heat away.