thermal energy
Heat is the transfer of thermal energy between substances. Thermal energy is the kinetic energy of moving particles of matter, measured by their temperature. Thermal energy always moves from matter with greater thermal energy to matter with less thermal energy, so it moves from warmer to cooler substances. You can see this in the Figure below . Faster-moving particles of the warmer substance bump into and transfer some of their energy to slower-moving particles of the cooler substance. Thermal energy is transferred in this way until both substances have the same thermal energy and temperature. For a visual introduction to these concepts, watch the animation Temperature vs. Heat at this URL:.