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In: Chemistry
Conduction vs convection. The convective heat put off by the fire just isn’t enough to overcome the amount of heat that the thick walls of an igloo can absorb through conduction. It would take an immense amount of BTUs to melt the walls of an igloo. Ever seen the video of the guy trying to melt the snow on his driveway with a flamethrower? It didn’t work very well…. It takes only a small amount of convective heat and few BTUs to warm the air inside the igloo. Think about breathing on the palm of your hand. The surface of your hand gets warm for about 3 seconds. But you could never breathe on the palm of your hand enough to make the back of your hand warm. Now imaging the back of your hand is -10 degrees. Your hand is going to be frozen regardless of a little warm air hitting one side of it.
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