We had a discussion at the ASPI office recently about cold. Here is our weather-appropriate science lesson this month: The office has a concrete floor - which was keeping our toes chilly. We use thermal masses in our greenhouse and solar house, which absorb energy from the sun and release it slowly throughout the night (usually made of clay, stone, or concrete.) So the comparison was made that these floors were like thermal masses in reverse - they were releasing the cold that had been absorbed all night (and since the nights were crazy-cold, that was a lot of cold.)
Hopefully, this idea makes you cringe.
It is something we don't think a lot about, because of the sensations in our body. When the temperature is high, we feel hot. When the temperature is low, we feel cold. Most folks can tell you that heat is some kind of energy - and they are right. There are different ways to define heat, but it is accepted to be a measurement of energy - or the energy itself.
What, then, is cold?
Cold is a sensation you feel - like hot. But, cold is not a thing or a type of energy. It is the feeling you get when one type of energy is being transferred from your body at a rate greater than normal. If you want to call that energy heat - well, feeling cold is feeling the heat leaving your body. Nothing is going into your body - not even when you are cold down to your bones. Heat is just being transferred from it.
Was the ASPI floor then releasing cold?
No. There is no such thing as cold to be released. The floor has a lot less energy than our toes (and the surrounding air). The energy is being transferred from our feet to the floor. Heat does that - goes from where there is more of it (or it is more concentrated) to where there is less (or it is less concentrated). So the floor was kind of acting as a thermal mass in reverse - but instead of releasing heat, it was absorbing it.
Is there a lesson here?
I learned to wear two pairs of socks to work.
Hopefully, this idea makes you cringe.
It is something we don't think a lot about, because of the sensations in our body. When the temperature is high, we feel hot. When the temperature is low, we feel cold. Most folks can tell you that heat is some kind of energy - and they are right. There are different ways to define heat, but it is accepted to be a measurement of energy - or the energy itself.
What, then, is cold?
Cold is a sensation you feel - like hot. But, cold is not a thing or a type of energy. It is the feeling you get when one type of energy is being transferred from your body at a rate greater than normal. If you want to call that energy heat - well, feeling cold is feeling the heat leaving your body. Nothing is going into your body - not even when you are cold down to your bones. Heat is just being transferred from it.
Was the ASPI floor then releasing cold?
No. There is no such thing as cold to be released. The floor has a lot less energy than our toes (and the surrounding air). The energy is being transferred from our feet to the floor. Heat does that - goes from where there is more of it (or it is more concentrated) to where there is less (or it is less concentrated). So the floor was kind of acting as a thermal mass in reverse - but instead of releasing heat, it was absorbing it.
Is there a lesson here?
I learned to wear two pairs of socks to work.
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