Researchers Uncover a New Way Heat Travels Between Molecules

A new model, developed by University of Pennsylvania chemists, could be the first step towards better harnessing heat energy to power nanoscale devices. Scientists have long understood that heat travels through vibrations. Molecules vibrate faster and faster as they heat up, and their vibrations cause other molecules around them to vibrate as well, warming cooler nearby molecules. For decades this was the only known way heat could be transferred in organic molecules. Only recently have researchers had the ability to take a closer look at what actually happens at the molecular scale during heat transfer. Abraham Nitzan , professor of chemistry in Penn's School of Arts & Science , and Galen Craven, a postdoc in his lab, used new information about how to measure temperature on a nanoscale to revisit the mechanism of heat transfer. They created a model to find out how a temperature gradient affects molecular interaction, focusing in on the process of electron transfer.