Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Windchill.

Thanks Weather Network.
 I was concerned about those few clouds.
So, it's pretty cold outside. And by "pretty cold" I mean "cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey". (My father is so eloquent...)

But it's not just cold; it's very windy here in Edmonton, and that means windchill!

Temperature is a measure of the average motion of air molecules. Air particles are always moving around, and the speed they travel depends on their energy. The faster they go, the more energy they have, and the higher the temperature will be.

Windchill is a measure of how cold it "feels". A temperature like we had this morning (-32°C) can feel colder (-42°C) if there is a wind. A windchill of -42 means your body will lose heat as if it were -42°C outside, even if the thermometer only says -32°C.

All objects radiate heat, and our bodies are no exception. This radiated heat warms up the air around our bodies, creating a little buffer between us and the surrounding cooler air (hair and clothes help to trap this warm air next to our bodies).
However, if it is windy, this layer of warm air gets removed by a process known as convection and the windier it is, the faster the process happens, making it feel colder than the temperature alone.

And since you can use convection to cool down inanimate objects as well (think blowing on hot tea) plugging in your car's block heater is an absolute must in this weather!

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