Heat vs. Temperature for Dummies

heat index and wind chill

If it were not ultimately so disappointing, our staffers would find the degree of scientific illiteracy shown by some of our freelancers absolutely hilarious. The disappointing part, sadly, is just how little some of these people know as they pounded out "educational materials" for sites like HubPages.com and other content farms' most of which have – that heavens – disappeared. Hubbies are still here, however, and the "information" they shared is often questionable; questionable like "What Is Temperature," from the keyboard of the one and only Joan Whetzel.

According to Whetzel,

"The rate at which they move determines the amount of energy they generate and the energy level generated determines the degree of hotness or coldness which is measured on a numerical scale."

OK, we'll give her that, although what Joanie actually defined is thermal energy; of which the quantity we call "temperature" is the measurement. We would be remiss if we did not point out that there's no such thing as a "degree of... coldness"; as temperature is a measure of "hotness" (heat).

Whetzel went on to discuss how heat is independent of mass or volume, carefully avoiding using the phrase "physical property." Too bad, she should have. It's at this point that Joan's typical attention (or lack thereof) to detail rears its ugly head. First, she says that,

"Boiling point of liquids is usually measured as 212°F (100°C, 373.5°0K) and freezing point of liquids is measured at 32°F (0°C, 273.15°K). The coldest possible temperature is known as absolute zero (0°K, -273.15°C, -459.67°F)..."

First, Joan, more than fifty years ago the scientific community deprecated the combination °K in favor of a simple K, because the unit is not a "degree Kelvin," it is a "kelvin." As for her attention to detail? Given that a kelvin and a °C are identical, how did the difference between water's boiling and freezing points, 100 degrees C, become 100.45 kelvins (373.5 - 273.15)?

Joan babbles on with what she calls "Fun Facts," sharing a Farmer's Almanac-style method for calculating temperature from cricket chirps and "definitions" of heat index and wind chill. We'd have been way more impressed by the erudition of our Dumbass of the Day (for the 30th time) had she explained why those numbers feel different from the ambient temperature...

...but she didn't. For the record, high humidity retards evaporation of water from the skin, preventing the cooling effect of perspiration. Rapid movement of air strips away the thin convection layer of warm air next to the skin, making exposed skin feel cooler.

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SI - PHYSICS