Want to know heat transfer? Walk to canteen for a coffee!

Walking to canteen twice a day is routine to me and my guide; no, not for coffee, but for discussions which are more stimulating than the coffee itself! Today, while we were walking across the pandal towards canteen, (constructed last week for the convocation function), we noticed that about 10 workers were removing the structure, since the D-Day is over! Our curious heat transfer brains interpreted the following:

About 10 workers were sitting almost at equii distant to each other, at the top of the pandal. The first worker removes the metal sheet and passes it on to the adjacent worker, who then passes it on to the next person, etc., In this way the heat (metal sheet) is conducted, without the macroscopic movement of the medium (worker), from one end to the other end of the pandal.

A worker who waits near the side of the pandal (system boundary), collects and transports the metal sheet to a storage yard. This is convection of heat (metal sheet) as the medium (worker) has macroscopic movement.

My guide commented; m*c of the storage yard will be infinity for atleast two more days as there will not be any furthur transportation (conduction) of heat (metal sheet).

He furthur added that if we assume (we always have liberty to assume in theoretical studies!) that wind blows along the direction of storage yard, the heat (metal sheet) don’t need a medium (worker!) to be transferred, rather it radiates (flies) directly, independent of medium (worker).

Now I understood why coffee is stimulating!