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Why does 20 degree Celsius water feel colder than 20 degree air?
Wiki User
∙ 16y ago
Water has a higher "specific heat" than air, meaning that heat will conduct away far better through water than it will through air. It is exactly the same temperature as the air around it (assuming it has been sitting there for a while), but it FEELS colder if you touch it.
The human body needs to be able to dissipate some heat, just because we burn calories and create heat through our normal activity. Air at about 75 degrees gives us plenty of cooling ability without cooling us too much. Since water has a higher specific heat and conducts better than air it pulls heat out of our bodies far more efficiently, causing us to loose body heat at a higher rate. If we're only sticking our finger in the room temperature water, it just feels cool. If we climb into a swimming pool of "room temperature" water, we'll feel quite uncomfortable.
Wiki User
∙ 16y ago
Wiki User
∙ 16y agoBecause the water does a better job of absorbing heat from your hand than the air does. Water sucks heat from your hand, giving you the subjective experience that the water seems much colder.
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How hot does 100 degree water feel to touch?
It depends on whether you are talking fahrenheit or celsius. Fahrenheit would be warm to the touch. Celsius would burn your fingers.
Why do feet feel colder when you come in from outside in the winter?
Feel can feel colder after coming in from cold weather because they are thawing out, which causes them to tingle and feel cold.
Is 0 degrees Celsius - cold or hot?
This is the temperature at which water freezes. Hot and cold are relative terms, so you be the judge.Related Information:In physics the 0 degree is just a name for human use. In fact the zero degree Celsius and even many minus degrees Celsius are only descriptions of the state of the thermodynamic temperature and energy still remaining within a mass. This means that even a minus degree describes the presence of a low thermodynamic energy that is still present in the mass, not a state of energy absence. Only at the absolute zero degree which equals -237 Celsius , the energy inside the mass (the temperature inside a mass) reaches it's lowest possible point , that is absolute zero. So the zero degree Celsius is actually not the real zero degree. That is why physicists use the Kelvin scale more than the Celsius scale.On the other side, In biology, and human sensitivity of cold temperature, it is still unknown whether the neurons contribute in the detection of intense cold. That means it's possible that the human being will not feel coldness in very cold temperatures ,because the water inside the neurons starts to freeze when temperatures reach zero degrees Celsius and below it, making the possibility of stimuli conduction to the brain much harder. That is why we don't feel much cold. That means if a large part of our skin reaches 0 degrees Celsius we might not feel coldness ,but that is not possible in reality because our bodies will keep generating heat to regain the normal body temperature at 37 Celsius and the skin will be kept warm at least until death which the only possible state were the neurons will reach zero degree without a resistance from the body. Generally in very cold stimuli it was found that tactile sensibilities deteriorate while pain perception persists. That means we will not feel any touch ,but we will feel the pain that is in the form of coldness.
How warm does 50 - 60 degrees Celsius feel like to the hand from heated metal?
what would 60 celsius feel like
Why does a strong wind make you colder in winter?
The action of the wind draws moisture from your skin - which naturally cools your body - making you feel colder.
Why does ice at 0 degrees Celsius feel colder to the mouth than water at 0 degrees Celsius?
This is because the ice at 0 deg C is colder to the extent that the latent heat of freezing has been removed from the water at 0 deg C.
How hot does 100 degree water feel to touch?
It depends on whether you are talking fahrenheit or celsius. Fahrenheit would be warm to the touch. Celsius would burn your fingers.
What does -7 degree celsius feel like?
To most people it will feel very cold.
Why does ice feel colder when it melts?
it is cold water!
Why do I feel warmer after drinking warm water?
Why do you feel colder after you drink cold water? Eh? See? Now I'm asking the questions
When birds feel colder flying or sitting?
Birds feel colder when they are flying
When you get out of the sea you often feel colder than when swimming why?
Because you can feel the wind on the water on your body - heat loss by evaporation.
Why does your hands feel colder when you wet them and the water evaporates?
Evaporation is an endothermic process and absorb heat.
Which decrease in temperature would feel cooler---35 degrees c or 35 degrees f?
35 deg C. A Celsius degree is bigger than a Fahrenheit degree.
Which would feel warmer 10 degrees celsius or 10 degrees Fahrenheit and WHY?
10 degrees Celsius because that is 10 degrees warmer than the freezing temperature (which is 0 degrees Celsius) where as Fahrenheit would be 23 degrees colder than the freezing temperature (which is 32 degrees Fahrenheit)
Why do feet feel colder when you come in from outside in the winter?
Feel can feel colder after coming in from cold weather because they are thawing out, which causes them to tingle and feel cold.
Why do your hands feel colder when the propanol evaporates compared to when the distilled water evaporates?
The heat of evaporation for propanol is lower.
