What is Cold?

Deep Easterly

A stupid question I know..:o

But what is cold? This morning when I got out of bed, I felt cold. Nothing unusual there, but I couldn't figure out why I was feeling cold.

Easy answer would be that cold is the lack of heat. But I am not satisfied with that answer. When I say I am cold, I know I am cold, but I can't explain what a "cold" feeling is, I just know it is cold.

Is cold an actual physical force? It can drain the will to be motivated, the will to live even; it can drain the life out of batteries, freeze up cars, but can the actual force of cold be explained?

Anyone?

Deep Easterly

Apologies, I wanted to edit grammar mistakes on my post but now for some reason the actual thread is posted up twice :o:o

Mods, if ye wouldn't mind skirtin' one of them..

Tanks.

Lands Leaving

Cold is the feeling of the heat in your body being taken away by the atmosphere around you, which is not so hot.

Remember junior cert science, if you are cold and touch something hot, you get hotter while it gets colder. You take it's heat basically.

I think thats conduction.

Also my house is cold.

Deep Easterly

Lands Leaving wrote: »

Also my house is cold.

Mine was too this morning! Only 10.1c in my gaff when I got up. I put on the heat for an hour a while ago, and now it too bloody warm. 18.6c currently in my living room.

I guess I am a 15c to 16c kind of guy....:p

squonk

That's my preferred temp range too DE! Always end up fighting over the thermostat at work with people

eskimocat

I guess I am a 15c to 16c kind of guy....:p[/QUOTE] Deep Easterly

Ahhhh, i would freeze at that temp!! that would be COLD for me, auld cauld creatur....

Joe Public

If the air around us is 37C, why is that too hot?

cinnamon

Joe Public wrote: »

If the air around us is 37C, why is that too hot?

Isn't our body temp around 37•C? So anything hotter would make us uncomfortable.

TBH that type of heat isn't too hot for me! I was in Ayers Rock this year and it was about that temp and I found it lovely! But it's dry heat, I hate humid heat.

enda1

Joe Public wrote: »

If the air around us is 37C, why is that too hot?

Your body's metabolism creates a lot of heat.

But you can also radiate heat energy from your body - most advantageous for naked black guys assuming they are not receiving much radiant heat, then it would be a disaster :eek:

Deep Easterly

Eskimocat wrote:

Ahhhh, i would freeze at that temp!! that would be COLD for me, auld cauld creatur....

Another oddity that has struck me lately. An inside temp of say 13c always seems to feel cooler that an outside temp of 13c. We all enjoy a walk in snow and sub freezing temps outside, yet if temp was below freezing inside the house, we would probably be found dead with rats eating us from the inside out.

Life is stange....:D

Danno

It's all perception DE!

Also, how cold you feel is down to certain conditions... how tired you feel, what food is in your belly, how much exercise you have done etc...

Graces7

The time to worry is when your breath stops misting in a cold place as that means your core temperature has dropped.

Danno wrote: »

It's all perception DE!

Also, how cold you feel is down to certain conditions... how tired you feel, what food is in your belly, how much exercise you have done etc...