Q. What is meant by conduction of heat?
A. Heat communicated from one body to another, by actual contact.
Q. Why does a piece of wood (blazing at one end) not feel hot at the other end?
A. Wood is a bad conductor of heat; and, therefore, heat does not traverse freely through it: hence, though one end of a stick be blazing-hot, the other end may be quite cold.
Q. Why do some things feel so much colder than others?
A. Principally because they are better conductors; and, therefore, draw off the heat from our body (which touches them) so much faster.
Q. What are the best conductors of heat?
A. Dense solid bodies, such as metal and stone.
Q. Which metals are the most rapid conductors of heat?
A. Silver is the best conductor, then copper, then gold or tin, then iron, then zinc, and then lead.