Why can tinfoil be touched immediately after coming out of a super hot (hundreds of degrees) oven?
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You can look at this in a more thermodynamics-centric way, but I’ll try to stay brief:
– the amount of heat that needs to be extracted away from an object to lower its temperature by 1°C is (among other things) tied to its mass. A typical sheet of aluminum foil is extremely thin and thus extremely light. As a result you don’t need to extract that much energy to lower the temperature of a sheet of foil.
– The speed at which heat radiates away from an object is strongly dependent on its surface area. On top of the previously discussed low, a sheet of aluminum foil has a LOT of surface area.
– Additionally, aluminum itself is a good thermal conductor, meaning heat has no trouble reaching the outer edge of a sheet of foil.
A solid cube of aluminum would cool much slower, for the sake of example.
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