What are the important applications of convection currents of Heat ?

The important applications of convection currents of Heat are given below :

Applications of Convection Currents of Heat:

1. The air, which we breathe out, is warmer and lighter. It moves up in the room to go out of the ventilators, near the top of side walls. The fresh air comes through the windows and doors. It is cool and takes the place of exhaled air rising upward.

2. In winter, hotels and other buildings are heated centrally on the principle of convection currents.

3. Land and sea breezes are convection currents. During the day the land absorbs the heat of the sun more quickly than the sea. As a result, the temperature of land rises much higher than that of sea water.

4. Convection of currents causes trade winds. The sun heats up land and water which receive same amount of heat for equal areas. This heating is greatest at the tropics. The heated earth heats the air coming in coming with it. The hot air expands and becomes less dense than the air from the temperate and polar regions. This hot air rises up and cool air from the temperate and polar regions rushes in to take its place. This convection of air is the cause of (trade) winds.

5. Convection currents of heat cause oceanic currents. Water near the equator gets heated up, whereas water near the poles is comparatively cold. The warm water is lighter than cold water. The cold water near the poles sinks and the surface water flows to take its place. So convection currents are produced by warm water flowing from equator towards the poles. Convection current of cold water flows from poles towards the equator below the surface of oceans. These convection currents are called oceanic currents. They control the temperature of ocean.