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Unlike conductive and convective forms of heat transfer, thermal radiation can be concentrated in a small spot by using reflecting mirrors, which is exploited in concentrating solar power generation. For example, the sunlight reflected from mirrors heats the PS10 solar power tower and during the day it can heat water to 285 °C (545 °F). Mass Transfer In mass transfer, energy—including thermal energy—is moved by the physical transfer of a hot or cold object from one place to another. This can be as simple as placing hot water in a bottle and heating a bed, or the movement of an iceberg in changing ocean currents.

Vacuum flasks, or Dewars, are silvered to approach this ideal. In the vacuum of space, satellites use multi-layer insulation, which consists of many layers of aluminized (shiny) Mylar to greatly reduce radiation heat transfer and control satellite temperature. Critical insulation thickness Low thermal conductivity (k) materials reduce heat fluxes. The smaller the k value, the larger the corresponding thermal resistance (R) value. Thermal conductivity is measured in watts-per-meter per kelvin (W·m−1·K−1), represented as k.

Note the impeller (or agitator) blades on the shaft for mixing. Also note the baffle at the bottom of the image which also helps in mixing. In a CSTR, one or more fluid reagents are introduced into a tank reactor equipped with an impeller while the reactor effluent is removed. The impeller stirs the reagents to ensure proper mixing. Simply dividing the volume of the tank by the average volumetric flow rate through the tank gives the residence time, or the average amount of time a discrete quantity of reagent spends inside the tank.