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

Your skin doesn’t feel temperature it feels a heat flux, a transfer of heat.

The thermal conductivity is different for different materials, a higher conductivity will lead to a larger/faster rate of heat transfer and that feels colder, even if the objects start at the same temperature.

That is why aislants like plastics and foam feel warmer than steel even if both happened to be at the same temperature.