Clive M. Countryman, Heat-Its Role in Wildland Fire… (1975)
“ Conduction is the transfer of heat by molecular activity In Heat—Part I, we learned that when a substance is heated it absorbs thermal energy or heat, and the molecular activity within the substance increases. The increase in molecular activity is accompanied by an increase in temperature. If only part of an object is heated, the molecular activity and temperature are increased only in that part at first. ”
Clive M. Countryman, Heat-Its Role in Wildland Fire… (1975)
“ Fuel density affects thermal conductivity In our discussion of the nature of heat (Part 1) , we saw that the heat capacity of wildland fuels increases with their density, or weight per unit of volume. The ability of wildland fuels to conduct heat is also closely related to fuel density; the greater the density, the higher the thermal conductivity. Thus, heat conduction in heavy fuels such as oak and maple can be considered analogous to the flow of water in a smooth pipe—these fuels impede the conduction of heat much less than do low-density fuels. ”
Clive M. Countryman, Heat-Its Role in Wildland Fire… (1975)
“ Heat Conduction Heat, or thermal energy, is one of the three ingredients essential to fire—the other two are oxygen and fuel. Enough oxygen for fire is almost always available in wildlands, and fuel is usually plentiful. But the mere presence of a heat source does not necessarily result in a wildland fire. Before a hot or flaming firebrand can ignite the fuel, some of its heat must be imparted to the fuel in some way. And for a fire to continue to burn and to spread, heat must be transferred from the fire to unburned fuel. ”
