An easy example of convection is boiling water in a pot on the stove.

Simple explanation

  • When you heat a pot from below, the water at the bottom gets hot first and becomes less dense, so it rises.
  • Cooler, denser water from the top then sinks down to take its place, creating a continuous circulating pattern called a convection current.

Other everyday examples

  • Warm air rising above a radiator or heater and cooler air sinking to the floor.
  • Air above a campfire warming, rising, and being replaced by cooler surrounding air.
  • Sea breezes at the beach: warm air over land rises, and cooler air from over the water moves in to replace it.

These are all examples of convection because heat is transferred by the movement of a fluid (liquid or gas).