Which option is NOT one of the five modes of thermal agents?

Which option is NOT one of the five modes of thermal agents?

• A. Conduction
• B. Convection
• C. Evaporation
• D. Refraction

Answer: (D)

The main idea here is recognizing how heat is transferred in physical therapy thermal agents. In practice, heat moves by conduction (direct contact), convection (movement of circulating fluid around the body), radiation (energy transfer without direct contact, from a heat source like an infrared lamp), and evaporation (cooling as a liquid on the skin evaporates, such as vapocoolant spray). Refraction, on the other hand, is about the bending of light as it passes between media with different densities and has nothing to do with transferring heat. So it isn’t one of the modes of thermal energy transfer used with thermal agents.

The main idea here is recognizing how heat is transferred in physical therapy thermal agents. In practice, heat moves by conduction (direct contact), convection (movement of circulating fluid around the body), radiation (energy transfer without direct contact, from a heat source like an infrared lamp), and evaporation (cooling as a liquid on the skin evaporates, such as vapocoolant spray). Refraction, on the other hand, is about the bending of light as it passes between media with different densities and has nothing to do with transferring heat. So it isn’t one of the modes of thermal energy transfer used with thermal agents.