Dont know if I asked the question right but here goes…. There are times where the temperature is 75F and it’s cloudy and feels cool. There are other times where it’s 75F and sunny and I’m sweating outside. Obviously the sun right? But the temperature is the same? Does the sun not affect the temperature all the time. Also I’ve been in 50 degrees in a humid climate and it feels a lot colder than 30 in a dry climate. I always thought temperature was hot or cold but I feel like sometimes there’s more to it than that. Also I’m well aware of humidity and heat and also wind chill. I’m not referring to those things
In: Planetary Science
There are two main things to consider: 1. Your “feeling” or “sensation” of temperature is different than actual temperature. 2. Your body has an internal furnace creating a lot of heat that needs to be constantly cooled down so your body doesn’t overheat.The surface of your skin is where your “temperature sensing” is located but it’s also where you need to shed heat into the environment from your core. Your feeling of temperature is therefore related to how well or unwell you can shed that heat. So in a 75F environment that is being warmed up to that temperature, you yourself are being warmed up so it feels warmer. Otherwise a 75F environment that is cooled down to that temperature, you are being cooled down so it “feels” cooler.
Veritasium has a great old video that addresses this. In short he interviews people on a cold Australian day and has them feel a book and a hard drive and asks them what temperature they “feel”. The book feels warmer, whereas the hard drive feels colder. He then uses an infrared thermometer to show that they are both the same temperature and asks them how that changes their reasoning. Objectively it makes sense that two inert inanimate objects on a cold day would be the same temperature of the environment. The difference they realize that it’s the conduction of heat from their hand to the object that is different despite being the same temperature. Their hand warms up the surface of the book so it feels the same temperature and that heat stays on the surface in contact with their hand, whereas the hard drive conducts heat away from where their hand is touching so it continually feels colder.
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