Why does it feel warmer to walk barefoot over wooden floors than to walk over ceramic tiles even if both are side-by-side in the same room?

Question

Why does it feel warmer to walk barefoot over wooden floors than to walk over ceramic tiles even if both are side-by-side in the same room?

In: 3184

Answer 1

Different materials have different specific heat capacities. A heat capacity is the amount of energy (Joules) it takes to heat up 1kg, 1 Kelvin (unit of heat). So it takes a lot more energy to heat up tiles than it does wood. So the tiles suck out a lot more energy (heat) from your foot than the wood does before it reaches approximately the same temperature as your foot.