Eli5: How are humpback whales able to survive in both tropical temperatures and antarctic ones (when my fat can’t protect from either)?
In: 58
First, it a question of economies of scale. You have a relatively small mass compared to your surface area, where the whale has less surface area compared to it’s mass.
Your fat is not as insulating and is different in a few ways, like blubber is more vascularized (has more blood vessels).
Even in tropical waters, whales loose heat. Whales can overheat, and at least one species uses structures in it’s tongue to moderate temperature.
Edit to add, some whales are adapted to live in a fairly wide temperature rage, others are not. Here’s a neat table [Hypothermia Table](https://www.useakayak.org/references/hypothermia_table.html) that shows a person can get hypothermic in seemingly warm ,Over 26.5℃/80℉, water. But on land, where air does not absorb heat as quickly, and where you likely have clothes, you can survive more easily at a wide variety of temps.
I just ran this by my 5yo and they frowned and everything other than whales are big and people are small. And people have clothes, that was important.
Latest Answers