i read the inside of an igloo can get quite toasty. since it’s warmer than freezing, much warmer, wouldn’t the inside ice melt?
In: 75
[removed]
It does. And if it wasn’t minus stupid outside, the igloo would completely melt. Snow and ice are reasonably good insulators. But at some point, enough interior heat is drawn away through the igloo’s walls toward the frigid exterior such that the inner wall stops melting.
Here’s how it works:
* The snow blocks are **compacted** and **cut** into a **spiral** **shape** that makes the igloo strong and stable.
* The snow blocks act as **insulators**, which means they **trap heat** inside the igloo and **block cold** from outside.
* The air inside the igloo is also an **insulator**, because it is **still** and **unmoving**. It helps to keep the heat from escaping through the snow walls.
* The igloo has a **small entrance** and a **raised sleeping platform**. This creates a **cold trap**, which means the cold air sinks to the bottom of the igloo and the warm air rises to the top.
* The igloo has a **ventilation hole** at the top, which allows some of the warm air and moisture to escape. This prevents the igloo from getting too hot and humid, which could cause the snow to melt.
[removed]
The inside *snow* does melt a little bit, but as it dribbles down the other snow it re-freezes, and makes an icy wall. Kinda tiles itself, really. Then repeat that.
I think an important factor must be that it takes a lot of energy for water to change from solid to liquid form. So the heat raises the temperature of the wall to the melting point, but then it will actually take a while to accumulate enough heat to make it a liquid. But at the same time, heat will slowly dissipate, keeping the wall solid at melting point.
Hence it can be 15 degrees below freezing outside and 15 degrees above freezing inside… and the walls stay at melting point.
Please correct me if I am wrong!
Latest Answers