Final answer:
When two hot plates are kept parallel in a fluid medium, heated fluid between them rises due to decreased density, while cooler fluid enters from below and hot fluid exits from above, engaging in a convection cycle.
Step-by-step explanation:
When two hot plates are kept parallel to each other in a fluid medium, several phenomena related to convection and fluid dynamics occur. The correct sequence of events, in accordance with the principles of buoyancy and fluid flow, is as follows:
- The fluid immediately adjacent to the hot plates becomes heated, decreases in density, and consequently rises due to the effect of buoyancy.
- The ambient cooler fluid, which has higher density, enters the channel between the plates from the lower end to replace the rising warm fluid.
- As the heated fluid continues to rise, it will eventually leave the channel from the upper end, completing the convective flow cycle.
Both the phenomena of natural convection, where hot fluid rises and cold fluid sinks, and the nature of fluid dynamics, where pressure drops in a rapidly-moving fluid, play a crucial role in understanding how convection currents develop between the two parallel plates in a fluid medium. This cycle allows the transfer of heat from the plates to the fluid, and is instrumental in various real-world applications, like heating of houses, operation of pot on a stove, ocean currents, and atmospheric circulation.