What describes the energy transfer from an area of high temperature to an area of low temperature?

The concept of energy transfer from a region of high temperature to a region of low temperature is best described as heat transfer. Heat transfer is a broad term that encompasses various mechanisms, including conduction, convection, and radiation, which are all ways that thermal energy can move from one place to another due to a temperature difference.

Understanding heat transfer involves recognizing that it is always driven by the temperature gradient: energy will flow from hot areas to cooler areas until thermal equilibrium is reached. This phenomenon is a fundamental principle of thermodynamics and is central to many applications in power engineering.

While conduction refers specifically to the direct transfer of heat through materials, convection involves the movement of fluid (liquid or gas) carrying heat with it. Radiation describes the transfer of energy through electromagnetic waves without the need for a medium. Each of these methods is a form of heat transfer, but when discussing the overarching concept of energy moving from high temperature to low temperature, referring to it simply as heat transfer encompasses all of these mechanisms.