What is the term for the process by which heat flows through metal?

The term for the process by which heat flows through metal is conduction. This process occurs when thermal energy is transferred through direct contact of particles within a material. In metals, conduction is particularly effective due to the abundance of free electrons that can move easily throughout the metal lattice, allowing them to transfer kinetic energy from one part of the metal to another quickly.

When one part of a metal is heated, the particles in that area gain energy and vibrate more rapidly. These excited particles collide with neighboring particles, transferring some of their energy through the material, leading to the overall flow of heat from the hotter region to the cooler region. This characteristic makes conduction a key mechanism for heat transfer in solid materials, especially metals, which are often used in various applications requiring efficient heat management.

Other processes like convection and radiation involve different mechanisms of heat transfer; for instance, convection is the transfer of heat in fluids through the movement of the fluid itself, and radiation involves heat transfer through electromagnetic waves without needing a medium. Cohesion refers to the attraction between particles within a substance and is not related to heat transfer. Thus, conduction is the correct term in this context.