I always assumed the way sweat cooled us was how the water on the outside of our skin cools off and in turn cools the skin down however I don’t get why the air that cools the sweat cant cool our bodies especially if our skin can heat that sweat just as fast or faster than the air can cool it.
In: Biology
So long as the air is relatively dry, any moisture on your skin wants to jump off into the air, to balance it out. Think of it kinda like a sponge, if the sponge is dry, water will move into the sponge. Except, in order to absorb into the air, water on your skin needs to evaporate.
So … crazy things happen when matter changes state. When anything moves between solid, liquid or gas (aka evaporates, thaws, freezes, or condenses)
When the water in you skin evaporates to join the air, it will basically absorb a bunch of energy (heat) in order to boil itself off.
I’m oversimplifying, but the phase change is the key. It’s also why humidity is dangerous. If the air is already wet, the water/sweat on your skin can’t evaporate out, and you’ll overheat super easily.
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