TheInfoList

Convection is single or multiphase
fluid flow In physics and engineering, fluid dynamics is a subdiscipline of fluid mechanics that describes the flow of fluids—liquids and gases. It has several subdisciplines, including ''aerodynamics'' (the study of air and other gases in motion) and h ...
that occurs due to the combined effects of
material property A material's property (or material property) is an intensive propertyIn grammar, an intensive word form is one which denotes stronger, more forceful, or more concentrated action relative to the root on which the intensive is built. Intensives are us ...
heterogeneity Homogeneity and heterogeneity are concepts often used in the sciences Science (from the Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally ...
and
body forces A body force is a force that acts throughout the volume of a body. Forces due to gravity Gravity (), or gravitation, is a list of natural phenomena, natural phenomenon by which all things with mass or energy—including planets, stars, galax ...
on a
fluid In physics Physics is the that studies , its , its and behavior through , and the related entities of and . "Physical science is that department of knowledge which relates to the order of nature, or, in other words, to the regular s ...
, most commonly
density The density (more precisely, the volumetric mass density; also known as specific mass), of a substance is its per unit . The symbol most often used for density is ''ρ'' (the lower case Greek letter ), although the Latin letter ''D'' can also ...

and
gravity Gravity (), or gravitation, is a by which all things with or —including s, s, , and even —are attracted to (or ''gravitate'' toward) one another. , gravity gives to s, and the causes the s of the oceans. The gravitational attracti ...

(see
buoyancy Buoyancy (), or upthrust, is an upward exerted by a that opposes the of a partially or fully immersed object. In a column of fluid, pressure increases with depth as a result of the weight of the overlying fluid. Thus the pressure at the bo ...

). When the cause of the convection is unspecified, convection due to the effects of
thermal expansion Thermal expansion is the tendency of matter to change its shape A shape or figure is the form of an object or its external boundary, outline, or external Surface (mathematics), surface, as opposed to other properties such as color, Surfac ...
and buoyancy can be assumed. Convection may also take place in soft
solids Solid is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the others being liquid A liquid is a nearly incompressible In fluid mechanics or more generally continuum mechanics, incompressible flow (isochoric process, isochoric flow) re ...
or
mixtures In chemistry, a mixture is a material made up of two or more different Chemical substance, substances which are not chemically combined. A mixture is the physical combination of two or more substances in which the identities are retained and are m ...
where particles can flow. Convective flow may be
transient Transience or Transient may refer to: Music * Transient (album), ''Transient'' (album), a 2004 album by Gaelle * Transience (album), ''Transience'' (album), a 2015 album by Steven Wilson Science and engineering * Transient state, when a process v ...
(such as when a multiphase
mixture In chemistry, a mixture is a material made up of two or more different chemical substances which are not chemically combined. A mixture is the physical combination of two or more substances in which the identities are retained and are mixed in th ...

of
oil An oil is any nonpolar In chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound ...

and
water Water (chemical formula H2O) is an Inorganic compound, inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known li ...

separates) or
steady state In systems theory Systems theory is the interdisciplinary study of system A system is a group of Interaction, interacting or interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules to form a unified whole. A system, surrounded and influen ...

(see
Convection cell Image:Altocumulus15.jpg, Altocumulus cloud as seen from the Space Shuttle. Altocumulus clouds are formed by convective activity. In the field of fluid dynamics, a convection cell is the phenomenon that occurs when density differences exist within ...
). The convection may be due to
gravitational Gravity (), or gravitation, is a natural phenomenon by which all things with mass Mass is both a property Property (''latin: Res Privata'') in the Abstract and concrete, abstract is what belongs to or with something, whether as an ...

,
electromagnetic Electromagnetism is a branch of physics involving the study of the electromagnetic force, a type of physical interaction that occurs between electric charge, electrically charged particles. The electromagnetic force is carried by electromagneti ...

or fictitious body forces. Heat transfer by natural convection plays a role in the structure of
Earth's atmosphere The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gas Gas is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the others being solid Solid is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the others being liquid, gas and plasma). The mo ...

, its
oceans The ocean (also the sea or the world ocean) is the body of salt water which covers approximately 71% of the surface of the Earth.
, and its
mantle Mantle may refer to: *Mantle (geology) A mantle is a layer inside a planetary body A planet is an astronomical body Astronomy (from el, ἀστρονομία, literally meaning the science that studies the laws of the stars) is a n ...
. Discrete convective cells in the atmosphere can be identified by
clouds In meteorology Meteorology is a branch of the (which include and ), with a major focus on . The study of meteorology dates back , though significant progress in meteorology did not begin until the 18th century. The 19th century saw mod ...

, with stronger convection resulting in
thunderstorm A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge Electrostatic discharge (ESD) is the sudden fl ...

s. Natural convection also plays a role in
stellar physics Astrophysics is a science that employs the methods and principles of physics in the study of astronomical object In astronomy, an astronomical object or celestial object is a naturally occurring physical entity, association, or structure t ...
. Convection is often categorised or described by the main effect causing the convective flow, e.g. Thermal convection. Convection cannot take place in most solids because neither bulk current flows nor significant diffusion of matter can take place.

# Terminology

The word ''convection'' has different but related usages in different scientific or engineering contexts or applications. The broader sense is in
fluid mechanics Fluid mechanics is the branch of physics Physics is the that studies , its , its and behavior through , and the related entities of and . "Physical science is that department of knowledge which relates to the order of nature, or, in o ...
, where ''convection'' refers to the motion of fluid driven by density (or other property) difference. In
thermodynamics Thermodynamics is a branch of physics Physics is the that studies , its , its and behavior through , and the related entities of and . "Physical science is that department of knowledge which relates to the order of nature, or, in ot ...

"convection" often refers to heat transfer by convection, where the prefixed variant Natural Convection is used to distinguish the fluid mechanics concept of Convection (covered in this article) from convective heat transfer. Some phenomena which result in an effect superficially similar to that of a convective cell may also be (inaccurately) referred to as a form of convection, e.g. thermo-capilliary convection and Granular convection.

# Examples and applications

Convection occurs on a large scale in
atmosphere An atmosphere (from the greek words ἀτμός ''(atmos)'', meaning 'vapour', and σφαῖρα ''(sphaira)'', meaning 'ball' or 'sphere') is a layer or a set of layers of gases surrounding a planet or other material body, that is held in ...
s, oceans,
planet A planet is an astronomical body orbiting a star or Stellar evolution#Stellar remnants, stellar remnant that is massive enough to be Hydrostatic equilibrium, rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and ...

ary
mantle Mantle may refer to: *Mantle (geology) A mantle is a layer inside a planetary body A planet is an astronomical body Astronomy (from el, ἀστρονομία, literally meaning the science that studies the laws of the stars) is a n ...
s, and it provides the mechanism of heat transfer for a large fraction of the outermost interiors of our sun and all stars. Fluid movement during convection may be invisibly slow, or it may be obvious and rapid, as in a
hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation Atmospheric circulation is the large-scale movement of Atmosphere of Earth, air and together with oc ...

. On astronomical scales, convection of gas and dust is thought to occur in the accretion disks of s, at speeds which may closely approach that of light.

## Demonstration experiments

Thermal convection in liquids can be demonstrated by placing a heat source (e.g. a
Bunsen burner A Bunsen burner, named after Robert Bunsen, is a kind of gas burner used as laboratory equipment; it produces a single open gas flame, and is used for heating, sterilization, and combustion. The gas can be natural gas (which is mainly methane) or ...

) at the side of a container with a liquid. Adding a dye to the water (such as food colouring) will enable visualisation of the flow. Another common experiment to demonstrate thermal convection in liquids involves submerging open containers of hot and cold liquid coloured with dye into a large container of the same liquid without dye at an intermediate temperature (eg. a jar of hot tap water coloured red, a jar of water chilled in a fridge coloured blue, lowered into a clear tank of water at room temperature). A third approach is to use two identical jars, one filled with hot water dyed one colour, and cold water of another colour. One jar is then temporarily sealed (eg. with a piece of card), inverted and placed on top of the other. When the card is removed, if the jar containing the warmer liquid is placed on top no convection will occur. If the jar containing colder liquid is placed on top, a convection current will form spontaneously. Convection in gases can be demonstrated using a candle in a sealed space with an inlet and exhaust port. The heat from the candle will cause a strong convection current which can be demonstrated with a flow indicator, such as smoke from another candle, being released near the inlet and exhaust areas respectively.

## Convection cells

A convection cell, also known as a
Bénard cellBenard or Bénard is a surname, and may refer to; * Abraham-Joseph Bénard (1750 - 1822), French actor of the Comédie-Française, was one of the greatest comedians of his time. Stage name: ''Fleury''. * Aimé Bénard (1873 – 1938) was a politici ...
, is a characteristic fluid flow pattern in many convection systems. A rising body of fluid typically loses heat because it encounters a colder surface. In liquid, this occurs because it exchanges heat with colder liquid through direct exchange. In the example of the Earth's atmosphere, this occurs because it radiates heat. Because of this heat loss the fluid becomes denser than the fluid underneath it, which is still rising. Since it cannot descend through the rising fluid, it moves to one side. At some distance, its downward force overcomes the rising force beneath it, and the fluid begins to descend. As it descends, it warms again and the cycle repeats itself.

## Atmospheric convection

### Atmospheric circulation

Atmospheric circulation is the large-scale movement of air, and is a means by which
thermal energy Thermal radiation in visible light can be seen on this hot metalwork. Thermal energy refers to several distinct physical concepts, such as the internal energy of a system; heat or sensible heat, which are defined as types of energy transfer (as is ...
is distributed on the surface of the
Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbour and support life. 29.2% of Earth's surface is land consisting of continents and islands. The remaining 70.8% is Water distribution on Earth, covered wi ...

, together with the much slower (lagged) ocean circulation system. The large-scale structure of the
atmospheric circulation Atmospheric circulation is the large-scale movement of air File:Atmosphere gas proportions.svg, Composition of Earth's atmosphere by volume, excluding water vapor. Lower pie represents trace gases that together compose about 0.043391% of th ...

varies from year to year, but the basic climatological structure remains fairly constant. Latitudinal circulation occurs because incident solar
radiation In physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its Motion (physics), motion and behavior through Spacetime, space and time, and the related entities of energy and f ...

per unit area is highest at the heat equator, and decreases as the
latitude In geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia'', literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of the Earth and planets. The first person to use the ...

increases, reaching minima at the poles. It consists of two primary convection cells, the
Hadley cell#REDIRECT Hadley cell The Hadley cell, named after George Hadley, is a global scale tropical atmospheric circulation Atmospheric circulation is the large-scale movement of Atmosphere of Earth, air and together with ocean circulation is the mean ...
and the
polar vortex ''Polar Vortex'' is a 2020 novel by Canadian author Shani Mootoo. This domestic drama deals with the complexities of modern love. A love triangle develops between Priya, Alexandra and Prakash. The novel was shortlisted for the Giller Prize T ...
, with the
Hadley cell#REDIRECT Hadley cell The Hadley cell, named after George Hadley, is a global scale tropical atmospheric circulation Atmospheric circulation is the large-scale movement of Atmosphere of Earth, air and together with ocean circulation is the mean ...
experiencing stronger convection due to the release of
latent heat Latent heat (also known as latent energy or heat of transformation) is energy released or absorbed, by a body or a thermodynamic system A thermodynamic system is a body of matter In classical physics and general chemistry, matter is any su ...
energy by
condensation Condensation is the change of the state of matter In physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its Motion (physics), motion and behavior through Spacetime, space ...

of
water vapor (99.9839 °C) , - , Boiling point The boiling point of a substance is the temperature at which the vapor pressure 280px, The ''pistol test tube'' experiment. The tube contains alcohol and is closed with a piece of cork. By heating th ...
at higher altitudes during cloud formation. Longitudinal circulation, on the other hand, comes about because the
ocean The ocean (also the sea The sea, connected as the world ocean or simply the ocean The ocean (also the sea or the world ocean) is the body of salt water which covers approximately 71% of the surface of the Earth.
has a higher specific heat capacity than land (and also
thermal conductivity The thermal conductivity of a material is a measure of its ability to conduct heat. It is commonly denoted by k, \lambda, or \kappa. Heat transfer occurs at a lower rate in materials of low thermal conductivity than in materials of high thermal ...

, allowing the heat to penetrate further beneath the surface ) and thereby absorbs and releases more
heat In thermodynamics Thermodynamics is a branch of physics that deals with heat, Work (thermodynamics), work, and temperature, and their relation to energy, entropy, and the physical properties of matter and radiation. The behavior of these ...

, but the
temperature Temperature ( ) is a physical quantity that expresses hot and cold. It is the manifestation of thermal energy Thermal radiation in visible light can be seen on this hot metalwork. Thermal energy refers to several distinct physical concept ...

changes less than land. This brings the sea breeze, air cooled by the water, ashore in the day, and carries the land breeze, air cooled by contact with the ground, out to sea during the night. Longitudinal circulation consists of two cells, the Walker circulation and El Niño / Southern Oscillation.

### Weather

Some more localized phenomena than global atmospheric movement are also due to convection, including wind and some of the
hydrologic cycle The water cycle, also known as the hydrologic cycle or the hydrological cycle, describes the continuous movement of water Water is an Inorganic compound, inorganic, Transparency and translucency, transparent, tasteless, odorless, ...

. For example, a
foehn wind A föhn, also spelled foehn (, ), is a type of dry, warm, down-slope wind that occurs in the lee (downwind side) of a mountain range. It is a rain shadow A rain shadow is a dry area on the leeward side of a mountainous area (away from the win ...
is a down-slope wind which occurs on the downwind side of a mountain range. It results from the warming of air which has dropped most of its moisture on windward slopes. Because of the different adiabatic lapse rates of moist and dry air, the air on the leeward slopes becomes warmer than at the same height on the windward slopes. A
thermal column A thermal column (or thermal) is a column of rising air in the lower altitudes of atmosphere of Earth, Earth's atmosphere, a form of atmospheric Vertical draft, updraft. Thermals are created by the uneven heating of Earth's surface from solar ...

(or thermal) is a vertical section of rising air in the lower altitudes of the Earth's atmosphere. Thermals are created by the uneven heating of the Earth's surface from solar radiation. The Sun warms the ground, which in turn warms the air directly above it. The warmer air expands, becoming less dense than the surrounding air mass, and creating a
thermal low Thermal lows, or heat lows, are non- frontal low-pressure area 250 px, This low-pressure system over Iceland spins counter-clockwise due to balance between the Coriolis and pressure gradient force. In meteorology Meteorology is a branch of ...
. The mass of lighter air rises, and as it does, it cools by expansion at lower air pressures. It stops rising when it has cooled to the same temperature as the surrounding air. Associated with a thermal is a downward flow surrounding the thermal column. The downward moving exterior is caused by colder air being displaced at the top of the thermal. Another convection-driven weather effect is the
sea breeze A sea breeze A sea breeze A sea breeze or onshore breeze is any wind that blows from a large body of water toward or onto a landmass; it develops due to differences in air pressure created by the differing heat capacities of water and dry ...

.JetStream: An Online School For Weather (2008)
The Sea Breeze.
National Weather Service The National Weather Service (NWS) is an agency Agency may refer to: * a governmental or other institution Institutions, according to Samuel P. Huntington, are "stable, valued, recurring patterns of behavior". Institutions can refer to m ...
. Retrieved on 2006-10-24.
Warm air has a lower density than cool air, so warm air rises within cooler air, similar to
hot air balloon A hot-air balloon is a lighter-than-air A lifting gas or lighter than air gas is a gas that has a lower density than normal atmospheric gases and rises above them as a result. It is required for aerostats to create buoyancy, particularly in ...
s. Clouds form as relatively warmer air carrying moisture rises within cooler air. As the moist air rises, it cools, causing some of the
water vapor (99.9839 °C) , - , Boiling point The boiling point of a substance is the temperature at which the vapor pressure 280px, The ''pistol test tube'' experiment. The tube contains alcohol and is closed with a piece of cork. By heating th ...
in the rising packet of air to
condense Condensation is the change of the state of matter In physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its Motion (physics), motion and behavior through Spacetime, space ...

. When the moisture condenses, it releases energy known as
latent heat Latent heat (also known as latent energy or heat of transformation) is energy released or absorbed, by a body or a thermodynamic system A thermodynamic system is a body of matter In classical physics and general chemistry, matter is any su ...
of condensation which allows the rising packet of air to cool less than its surrounding air, continuing the cloud's ascension. If enough
instability In numerous fields of study, the component of instability within a system A system is a group of Interaction, interacting or interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules to form a unified whole. A system, surrounded and influe ...
is present in the atmosphere, this process will continue long enough for to form, which support lightning and thunder. Generally, thunderstorms require three conditions to form: moisture, an unstable airmass, and a lifting force (heat). All
thunderstorm A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge Electrostatic discharge (ESD) is the sudden fl ...

s, regardless of type, go through three stages: the developing stage, the mature stage, and the dissipation stage. The average thunderstorm has a diameter. Depending on the conditions present in the atmosphere, these three stages take an average of 30 minutes to go through.

## Oceanic circulation

Solar radiation affects the oceans: warm water from the Equator tends to circulate toward the
pole Pole may refer to: Astronomy *Celestial pole, the projection of the planet Earth's axis of rotation onto the celestial sphere; also applies to the axis of rotation of other planets *Pole star, a visible star that is approximately aligned with the ...
s, while cold polar water heads towards the Equator. The surface currents are initially dictated by surface wind conditions. The
trade winds The trade winds or easterlies are the permanent east-to-west prevailing winds that flow in the Earth's equatorial region. The trade winds blow mainly from the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere The Northern Hemisphere is the half of E ...
blow westward in the tropics, and the
westerlies The westerlies, anti-trades, or prevailing westerlies, are prevailing winds from the west toward the east in the middle latitudes between 30 and 60 degrees latitude. They originate from the high-pressure areas in the horse latitudes and trend tow ...
blow eastward at mid-latitudes. This wind pattern applies a stress to the subtropical ocean surface with negative
curl Curl or CURL may refer to: Science and technology * Curl (mathematics) In vector calculus Vector calculus, or vector analysis, is concerned with derivative, differentiation and integral, integration of vector fields, primarily in 3-dimension ...
across the
Northern Hemisphere The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbour and support life. 29.2% of Earth's surface is land consisting of continents and islands. The remain ...

, and the reverse across the
Southern Hemisphere The Southern Hemisphere is the half (hemisphere Hemisphere may refer to: * A half of a sphere As half of the Earth * A hemispheres of Earth, hemisphere of Earth ** Northern Hemisphere ** Southern Hemisphere ** Eastern Hemisphere ** Western He ...

. The resulting Sverdrup transport is equatorward. Because of conservation of
potential vorticity In fluid mechanics Fluid mechanics is the branch of physics concerned with the mechanics Mechanics (Ancient Greek, Greek: ) is the area of physics concerned with the motions of physical objects, more specifically the relationships among f ...

caused by the poleward-moving winds on the
subtropical ridge The horse latitudes are the latitude In geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia'', literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of the Eart ...
's western periphery and the increased relative vorticity of poleward moving water, transport is balanced by a narrow, accelerating poleward current, which flows along the western boundary of the ocean basin, outweighing the effects of friction with the cold western boundary current which originates from high latitudes. The overall process, known as western intensification, causes currents on the western boundary of an ocean basin to be stronger than those on the eastern boundary. As it travels poleward, warm water transported by strong warm water current undergoes evaporative cooling. The cooling is wind driven: wind moving over water cools the water and also causes
evaporation Evaporation is a type of vaporization Vaporization (or vaporisation) of an element or compound is a phase transition from the liquid phase to vapor. There are two types of vaporization: evaporation and boiling. Evaporation is a surface phe ...

, leaving a saltier brine. In this process, the water becomes saltier and denser. and decreases in temperature. Once sea ice forms, salts are left out of the ice, a process known as brine exclusion. These two processes produce water that is denser and colder. The water across the northern becomes so dense that it begins to sink down through less salty and less dense water. (This
open ocean convection Open ocean convection is a process in which the mesoscale ocean circulation and large, strong winds mix layers of water at different depths. Fresher water lying over the saltier or warmer over the colder leads to the Stratification (water), stratif ...
is not unlike that of a
lava lamp A lava lamp is a decorative lamp, invented in 1963 by British entrepreneur Edward Craven Walker, the founder of the lighting company Mathmos. The lamp consists of a bolus of a special coloured wax mixture inside a glass vessel, the remainder o ...

.) This downdraft of heavy, cold and dense water becomes a part of the
North Atlantic Deep Water North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) is a deep water mass formed in the North Atlantic Ocean. Thermohaline circulation 350px, A summary of the path of the thermohaline circulation. Blue paths represent deep-water currents, while red paths represent ...
, a southgoing stream.

## Mantle convection

Mantle convection is the slow creeping motion of Earth's rocky mantle caused by convection currents carrying heat from the interior of the earth to the surface. It is one of 3 driving forces that causes tectonic plates to move around the Earth's surface. The Earth's surface is divided into a number of
tectonic Tectonics (; ) are the processes that control the structure and properties of the Earth's crust and its evolution through time. These include the processes of mountain building A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, gen ...
plates that are continuously being created and consumed at their opposite plate boundaries. Creation (
accretion Accretion may refer to: Science * Accretion (astrophysics), the formation of planets and other bodies by collection of material through gravity * Accretion (meteorology), the process by which water vapor in clouds forms water droplets around nucle ...
) occurs as mantle is added to the growing edges of a plate. This hot added material cools down by conduction and convection of heat. At the consumption edges of the plate, the material has thermally contracted to become dense, and it sinks under its own weight in the process of subduction at an ocean trench. This subducted material sinks to some depth in the Earth's interior where it is prohibited from sinking further. The subducted oceanic crust triggers volcanism.

## Stack effect

The Stack effect or chimney effect is the movement of air into and out of buildings, chimneys, flue gas stacks, or other containers due to buoyancy. Buoyancy occurs due to a difference in indoor-to-outdoor air density resulting from temperature and moisture differences. The greater the thermal difference and the height of the structure, the greater the buoyancy force, and thus the stack effect. The stack effect helps drive natural ventilation and infiltration. Some
cooling tower A cooling tower is a heat rejection device that rejects waste heat Waste heat is heat that is produced by a machine, or other process that uses energy, as a byproduct of doing Work (thermodynamics), work. All such processes give off some w ...

s operate on this principle; similarly the
solar updraft tower The solar updraft tower (SUT) is a design concept for a renewable-energy power plant for generating electricity from low temperature solar heat. Sunshine heats the air beneath a very wide greenhouse-like roofed collector structure surrounding th ...

is a proposed device to generate electricity based on the stack effect.

## Stellar physics

The convection zone of a star is the range of radii in which energy is transported primarily by convection. Granules on the
photosphere The photosphere is a star's outer shell from which light is radiated. The term itself is derived from Ancient Greek roots, φῶς, φωτός/''phos, photos'' meaning "light" and σφαῖρα/''sphaira'' meaning "sphere", in reference to it ...
of the Sun are the visible tops of convection cells in the photosphere, caused by convection of
plasma Plasma or plasm may refer to: Science * Plasma (physics), one of the four fundamental states of matter * Plasma (mineral) or heliotrope, a mineral aggregate * Quark–gluon plasma, a state of matter in quantum chromodynamics Biology * Blood plasma ...
in the photosphere. The rising part of the granules is located in the center where the plasma is hotter. The outer edge of the granules is darker due to the cooler descending plasma. A typical granule has a diameter on the order of 1,000 kilometers and each lasts 8 to 20 minutes before dissipating. Below the photosphere is a layer of much larger "supergranules" up to 30,000 kilometers in diameter, with lifespans of up to 24 hours.

# Mechanisms

Convection may happen in
fluids In physics Physics (from grc, φυσική (ἐπιστήμη), physikḗ (epistḗmē), knowledge of nature, from ''phýsis'' 'nature'), , is the natural science that studies matter, its Motion (physics), motion and behavior through ...

at all scales larger than a few atoms. There are a variety of circumstances in which the forces required for convection arise, leading to different types of convection, described below. In broad terms, convection arises because of
body force A body force is a force that acts throughout the volume of a body. Forces due to gravity Gravity (), or gravitation, is a list of natural phenomena, natural phenomenon by which all things with mass or energy—including planets, stars, galax ...
s acting within the fluid, such as gravity.

## Natural convection

Natural convection, or free convection, occurs due to temperature differences which affect the density, and thus relative buoyancy, of the fluid. Heavier (denser) components will fall, while lighter (less dense) components rise, leading to bulk fluid movement. Natural convection can only occur, therefore, in a gravitational field. A common example of natural convection is the rise of smoke from a fire. It can be seen in a pot of boiling water in which the hot and less-dense water on the bottom layer moves upwards in plumes, and the cool and denser water near the top of the pot likewise sinks. Natural convection will be more likely and more rapid with a greater variation in density between the two fluids, a larger acceleration due to gravity that drives the convection or a larger distance through the convecting medium. Natural convection will be less likely and less rapid with more rapid diffusion (thereby diffusing away the thermal gradient that is causing the convection) or a more viscous (sticky) fluid. The onset of natural convection can be determined by the
Rayleigh number In fluid mechanics Fluid mechanics is the branch of physics Physics is the that studies , its , its and behavior through , and the related entities of and . "Physical science is that department of knowledge which relates to the order ...
(Ra). Note that differences in buoyancy within a fluid can arise for reasons other than temperature variations, in which case the fluid motion is called gravitational convection (see below). However, all types of buoyant convection, including natural convection, do not occur in
microgravity The term micro-g environment (also μg, often referred to by the term microgravity) is more or less synonymous with the terms ''weightlessness'' and ''zero-g'', but with an emphasis on the fact that g-forces are never exactly zero—just very sma ...
environments. All require the presence of an environment which experiences
g-force The gravitational force equivalent, or, more commonly, g-force, is a measurement of the type of force per unit mass – typically acceleration – that causes a perception of weight In science Science () is a systematic ente ...

(
proper acceleration In relativity theory, proper acceleration is the physical acceleration (i.e., measurable acceleration as by an accelerometer) experienced by an object. It is thus acceleration relative to a free-fall, or inertial, observer who is momentarily at r ...
).

## Gravitational or buoyant convection

Gravitational convection is a type of natural convection induced by buoyancy variations resulting from material properties other than temperature. Typically this is caused by a variable composition of the fluid. If the varying property is a concentration gradient, it is known as solutal convection. For example, gravitational convection can be seen in the diffusion of a source of dry salt downward into wet soil due to the buoyancy of fresh water in saline. Variable
salinity Salinity () is the saltiness or amount of salt Salt is a mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific ...

in water and variable water content in air masses are frequent causes of convection in the oceans and atmosphere which do not involve heat, or else involve additional compositional density factors other than the density changes from thermal expansion (see ''
thermohaline circulation Thermohaline circulation (THC) is a part of the large-scale Ocean current, ocean circulation that is driven by global density gradients created by surface heat and freshwater fluxes. The adjective ''thermohaline'' derives from ''wikt:thermo-, t ...

''). Similarly, variable composition within the Earth's interior which has not yet achieved maximal stability and minimal energy (in other words, with densest parts deepest) continues to cause a fraction of the convection of fluid rock and molten metal within the Earth's interior (see below). Gravitational convection, like natural thermal convection, also requires a
g-force The gravitational force equivalent, or, more commonly, g-force, is a measurement of the type of force per unit mass – typically acceleration – that causes a perception of weight In science Science () is a systematic ente ...

environment in order to occur.

## Solid-state convection in ice

is believed to occur in a soft mixture of nitrogen ice and carbon monoxide ice. It has also been proposed for Europa (moon), Europa, and other bodies in the outer solar system.

## Thermomagnetic convection

Thermomagnetic convection can occur when an external magnetic field is imposed on a ferrofluid with varying magnetic susceptibility. In the presence of a temperature gradient this results in a nonuniform magnetic body force, which leads to fluid movement. A ferrofluid is a liquid which becomes strongly magnetized in the presence of a magnetic field.

## Combustion

In a zero-gravity environment, there can be no buoyancy forces, and thus no convection possible, so flames in many circumstances without gravity smother in their own waste gases. Thermal expansion and chemical reactions resulting in expansion and contraction gases allows for ventilation of the flame, as waste gases are displaced by cool, fresh, oxygen-rich gas. moves in to take up the low pressure zones created when flame-exhaust water condenses.

# Mathematical models of convection

A number of dimensionless terms have been derived to describe and predict convection, including the Archimedes number, Grashof number, Richardson number, and the
Rayleigh number In fluid mechanics Fluid mechanics is the branch of physics Physics is the that studies , its , its and behavior through , and the related entities of and . "Physical science is that department of knowledge which relates to the order ...
. In cases of mixed convection (natural and forced occurring together) one would often like to know how much of the convection is due to external constraints, such as the fluid velocity in the pump, and how much is due to natural convection occurring in the system. The relative magnitudes of the Grashof number and the square of the Reynolds number determine which form of convection dominates. If $\rm Gr/Re^2 \gg 1$, forced convection may be neglected, whereas if $\rm Gr/Re^2 \ll 1$, natural convection may be neglected. If the ratio, known as the Richardson number#Thermal convection, Richardson number, is approximately one, then both forced and natural convection need to be taken into account.