What is heat? Explained in simple language

Source: 

https://www.cfact.org/2020/12/29/what-is-heat/

 

The most interesting portion of the article from the link above:

 

"How about the Earth itself? 

 

There is a considerable scientific debate on how much or how significant this heat is. 

 

In a July 19, 2011 article in Physics World, a group of scientists estimated this internal heat to be approximately 50 percent of the total heat that is radiated from the Earth into outer space. 

 

Others consider that figure to be only a few percent. 

 

The debate will likely continue for a long time because it appears impossible to measure, or even to estimate. 

 

Also, what remains a significant unknown is how much of this core heat is generated by the radioactive decay of Uranium and Thorium versus how much is from the primordial energy left from Earth’s formation.

 

Eons ago, kinetic energy from the asteroids and meteors smashing to the Earth (remember the hammer hitting the anvil?) imparted a lot of energy into the Earth’s core.  

 

We know that this internal heat (nuclear plus residual) accounts for the molten core that generates the Earth’s magnetic field and protects us from some of the sun’s solar cosmic rays and solar winds.

 

It’s also the same energy that moves the tectonic plates around the planet and occasionally results in volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and tsunamis. 

 

It is also the source of the geothermal power used in countries like Greenland and Iceland to make electricity and entertains us as we watch “Old Faithful” periodically explode at Yellowstone National Park. 

 

For climate change purposes, we can’t control this internal heat, which we can’t even measure. 

Therefore, we’ll treat it as a constant and “ignore it” until better data becomes available."