miked
Contributor
I have frequently heard/read statements like "water takes your body heat ## times faster than air". With different values in place of ##.
(This is explaining why you get colder, faster in 70 degree water than in 70 degree air.) Based on experience, I agree.
What I can't seem to find is a definitive/complete/scientific answer that explains "why" this is true.
Most of the explanations I have found are short, and consist of of statements like:
"The density of air is much lower than the density of water or the human body, and as such, the heat loss in air is less"
and/or
"Air is a poor heat transferring mechanism-so poor that it is the air gaps in insulation that helps it to work"
and/or
" The mechanism for heat exchange in air is radiation, whereas the mechanism in water is conduction, which works better"
I follow the logic of all three, but I can't find a source to confirm, expand upon, or refute any of these. Perhaps I'm a bad "searcher"??
Can anyone provide/or link to a deeper explanation?
Also, what is that ##-the value for "how many times faster does water removes heat from your body , compared to air of the same temp." I have heard several factors- ranging from 5 to 80.
Thanks in advance.
(This is explaining why you get colder, faster in 70 degree water than in 70 degree air.) Based on experience, I agree.
What I can't seem to find is a definitive/complete/scientific answer that explains "why" this is true.
Most of the explanations I have found are short, and consist of of statements like:
"The density of air is much lower than the density of water or the human body, and as such, the heat loss in air is less"
and/or
"Air is a poor heat transferring mechanism-so poor that it is the air gaps in insulation that helps it to work"
and/or
" The mechanism for heat exchange in air is radiation, whereas the mechanism in water is conduction, which works better"
I follow the logic of all three, but I can't find a source to confirm, expand upon, or refute any of these. Perhaps I'm a bad "searcher"??
Can anyone provide/or link to a deeper explanation?
Also, what is that ##-the value for "how many times faster does water removes heat from your body , compared to air of the same temp." I have heard several factors- ranging from 5 to 80.
Thanks in advance.