It’s 19°F (-7.222°C) outside, but I see that snow is melting. How is that possible when it’s below freezing?
In: Physics
Two things
1 – It’s possible for the air temperature to be one thing, but an object’s temperature to be another. I’m sure you’ve experienced this on a sunny day, where it feels much cooler in the shade than in the sun. The air temperature is the same for both, but when you’re sitting in the sun you’re absorbing solar radiation, which is warming you up.
2 – Temperature relates to the *average* kinetic energy of particles in a material. There is actually a distribution where some particles are moving much faster and some much slower. Some of those higher energy particles can collide with the snow and impart enough energy to melt snow. Statistically, this is happening over and over again enough for the snow to melt.
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