Final answer:
Conduction is the transfer of heat between two objects in direct contact, like when cooking food on a stove or when holding a hot mug. It involves the direct physical contact and transfer of kinetic energy between particles and is different from convection which involves fluid movement or radiation which involves electromagnetic waves.
Step-by-step explanation:
The definition of conduction is when heat transfers from objects that are touching. This mode of heat transfer occurs through stationary matter by physical contact. During conduction, heat is transferred by the energetic motion of particles in one region spreading to other areas and even to adjacent objects in close contact. An example of this process is when heat is transferred from the burner of a stove through the bottom of a pan to the food within, without any movement of the pan itself.
Another example of conduction is when a person holds a glass of ice water and the heat from their skin warms the glass, which, in turn, melts the ice. Similarly, on a cold day, wrapping your cold hands around a hot mug of coffee transfers heat from the mug to your hands through conduction. This direct transfer of heat by two objects in direct contact is an important concept in thermodynamics and plays a crucial role in various areas such as cooking and thermal insulation, but it accounts for only about 3 percent of the body's heat loss.