We show the importance of the thermal phenomena involved in all aspects of solidification :

- from the theoretical point of view, showing that the deviation from the equilibrium temperature is the driving force of solidification;

- from the experimental point of view, showing the various thermal measurements which allow growth to be monitored;

- from the technical point of view, where heat transfer calculations form the basis of apparatus design;

- at the level of numeric process simulation, in which heat transfer codes are widely used.