Can objects get colder than the ambient temperature around them?

Question

Say you store a vehicle outside all winter, if there was an usually cold week, say -20 degrees Fahrenheit for example, is it possible for the car to be colder than the -20 since it sat weeks prior to the -20 temps?

In: 594

Answer 1

First of all, heat takes some time to reach equilibrium, but not weeks in the case of a car. Second, if the temperature surrounding the car is -20, the car will try to reach -20, not any colder temperature. It could perhaps be colder than -20 only if it was even colder before that. EDIT: but see u/ShelfordPrefect’s response comment.