I used to always get confused as a kid when going swimming and the temperature gauge was around 20 degrees celsius but felt really cold considering the same temperature in air was warm. I still don’t really understand why this is?
In: Earth Science
Heat is a form of energy. Different material need different amount of heat to increase temperature. They also have different speed for transferring that energy to and from it.
When you feel something is “cold”, it’s because
1) The temperature is lower (seems obvious)
2) The matter is trying to equalize temperature by stealing yours
Energy try to equalize. It’s one of the rules of this universe. And if said universe had its say, everything would probably be as cold as the vacuum of space. But I digress, back on topic.
We now know why something feel cold. Now, why is it different for water or air? (or metal, or wood, or whatever) Well, remember what I said? Different material have different amount of heat required to change temperature AND speed for transferring it. (its due to density, which is another subject)
Now another piece of trivia: you cannot feel the temperature of something outside your body. What our body perceive as the temperature of the object outside is in fact the temperature of your skin in contact with the object. Your nerves are inside your body. Your body cannot get information that is outside.
So the whole thing is the following:
A colder material touch your skin. The heat leave your body to go into the material. Your nerves record the temperature available and send it to the brain. Brain decode information and tell you “you cold mate”.
Depending on the material, you will lose more or less heat at your point of contact at a given moment. Water draw heat faster and need more of it. So when you are in water, it steal your heat faster, and your body interpret that bigger loss of heat as a colder environment.
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