The power cord coming in as well as the switch that turns the coffee maker on and off can also be seen. The other main physical aspect involved in the drip coffee maker is the heating element. The resistive heating element is a coiled wire such as the filament of a light bulb or the element in an electric toaster, that gets hot when you run electricity through it. The heating element has two jobs, first it boils the water and then once the coffee is made the heating element keeps the coffee warm. Technically the heating coil transfers stored thermal energy to the cold water.
Heat naturally goes from hot to cold.
In the picture below the connection between the heating element and warming plate is shown. The heating element presses directly against the underside of the warming plate and a white heat conductive grease makes sure that heat transfers efficiently to the plate. This grease is used to dissipate, in such devices as stereo amplifiers and power supplies. The switch is connected with solid state temperature sensors that cut off the current when things get to hot. In the picture the device attached directly to the coil is the primary temperature sensor.