Originally Posted by
tomato coupe
That's not a universally accepted definition of heat. Heat is commonly defined as a form of energy that is transferred between bodies at different temperatures, i.e heat is a thing that is transferred, not the transfer itself. With this definition, it's reasonable to use the term heat transfer. (I've never met a physicist that had a problem with the term.)
Originally Posted by
tomato coupe
Yes, but given that heat transfer refers to a thermodynamic process, the physics definition is the relevant definition. The definition normally used by physicists establishes heat as a form of energy, i.e. a noun. Thus, heat transfer is a valid term in physics, and is used extensively.
Perhaps, but the definition I noted was expounded in day one of Fluid Dynamics and Heat Transfer by the professor (who I also took for thermodynamics). I've got game in those subjects but they were not my primary area of specialization in industry, so given that prof had a PhD and was a specialist in that area, I accepted his word for it. He didn't harp on it, but just pointed out with amusement, that, despite (in his words) the wrong term used in the actual title of the class, because that is most person's perception of it, that it's actually a redundancy in terms, or as I like to say, repetitively redundant.
Still, that was a better class title than one called "Lumped Parameter Linear Systems" (me: "I have no idea what this class is about"), where, fortunately, in the first five minutes, the professor explained what the class is about, in very clear terms, and I did great in the class.