Tagged Questions

0
votes
2answers
61 views

Does more reflective aluminum foil make a room cooler compared to less reflective foil?

Aluminum foil is said to be not absorbing light at all. It reflects light. So, does it mean that a more shiny aluminum foil will reflect more light and thus make the room more cooler as compared to ...
22
votes
6answers
2k views

How do whisky stones keep your drink cold?

From a discussion in the DMZ (security stack exchange's chat room - a place where food and drink are important topics) we began to question the difference between how ice and whisky stones work to ...
7
votes
1answer
109 views

What determines bubble locations in boiling water?

Something a little different to our usual fare. I was boiling a pan of water for cookery the other day, and got to wondering what caused the location of the bubble streams from the bottom of the pan. ...
3
votes
1answer
78 views

What pressure or tension occurs in a glass jar when I pour boiling water inside?

Sometimes it happens that when you pour a boiling water into a glass jar, it cracks. Since glass is very hard material and resilient to pressure, the tension must be very high. Is it possible to ...
0
votes
1answer
125 views

Confused about fire?

Im confused about fire. The way I see it : Heat creates (kinetic) energy in mass and this creates stronger vibrations of atoms. When those vibrations are strong enough the electrons interact ...
0
votes
2answers
97 views

Stealing heat, or not?

Say I hook a 1KW steam engine to the steam heat in my apartment, and generate 1KW of electricity (the engine is 1KW mechanical, not 1KW thermal) from it, so I don't have to pay ConEd. That means I ...
5
votes
0answers
179 views

Where to place a fan in order to cool a room the fastest [closed]

Imagine I have room that is very hot and it is colder outside. I want to cool it down using a fan. Scenario 1 There is only one door. I have one fan. Where should I put it and which way should it ...
0
votes
0answers
79 views

How can I measure the calories consumed in daily activity? [closed]

From a nice question here: How are the calories in food calculated? I can roughly understand how people provide the data of calories in certain food. However, I am still confused about 2 things. 1) ...
1
vote
4answers
310 views

Physics of a burning log of firewood

According to my knowledge, heat is nothing but the result of the vibrations of atoms and molecules. I guess this mean that in heating up a gas or liquid, we are increasing the rate at which the ...
4
votes
2answers
211 views

How can one feel cold without touching it?

Let me explain. My shower is inconsistant in how hot it gets. Whenever I turn on the shower, I always put my hand really close to the water, but not touching it, so I can feel the heat radiate from ...
0
votes
1answer
78 views

heat of a laptop when placed on a table, when placed on a pile of books and when placed on a bed [closed]

I heard somewhere that it is dangerous to place a laptop on a bed. The reason given was that placing the laptop on the bed blocks (assume that the laptop does not have sideway fans - it only has air ...
5
votes
4answers
977 views

Should I heat my room when I'm not here, energy-efficiently speaking?

I was wondering as it's getting cold : is it better for my electricity bill to shut down completely my (electric) heater during day, and to turn it on again when I come home (then it will have to heat ...
0
votes
0answers
1k views

How to determine size of a Heat Exchanger?

I am designing a Tube heat-exchanger, similar to this: My process requires water (at room temperature, 18C ~ 22C) that is being pumped out of a small tank (300 Liters) to be heated in a ...
5
votes
2answers
254 views

Why does a firebrand glow brightest before it burns out?

I've noticed this in match-sticks, and mango wood. After the flames die out, the brand glows red for a while. The glow is brightest right before it dies out. My guess is that immediately before the ...
4
votes
1answer
3k views

Why is my tupperware sealed after heating it up in the microwave?

I had a vegetable soup in a crystal tupperware and I put it in the microwave to heat it up. The funny thing is that when I took it out, it was impossible to open it up. The lid is bent towards the ...