In a thermodynamic class I took in 1989, the professor was talking about the transfer of heat and someone asked this question. The prof. didn’t attempt to explain it because it was off topic from the lecture, but he did say the answer had a more complex biological reason, and not that the floor was actually colder.
In: Biology
How cold something feels has very little to do with temperature and more to do with how well that thing conducts heat.
The feeling of cold comes from how quickly an object is able to absorb heat from your hand. At 70* room temperature, a pillow, for example, is a poor conductor of heat, so it will not feel cold when you grab it. A block of aluminum is a very good conductor of heat, when you grab that, it quickly absorbs the heat from your hand and “feels” cold even though it’s the same temperature as the pillow.
Likewise, walking barefoot on carpet (poor heat conductor) feels fine, but walking across ceramic tile (much better heat conductor) feels quite cool.
Latest Answers