It's Okay To Be Smart

  • About
  • Twitter
  • Science Links
  • Random
  • Archive
  • RSS
  • Ask me questions
banner

Body temperature is 98.6 degrees, so why is 98.6-degree air unbearable?

Slate explains the sweaty details:

“Because our bodies need to disperse heat, and they can’t do that effectively when the air temperature is close to our body temperature. Our muscles and metabolism generate heat continuously. We transfer that heat into our surroundings by sweating, exhaling warm air, and circulating blood near the surface of our skin to cool. When the temperature gradient (or difference) between the body and the air is high, heat flows easily from us into the environment, and we cool down. But when the weather hovers around our internal temperature, our inner swelter lingers, and we feel hot and uncomfortable. Humidity makes things worse by interfering with the vaporization of sweat, one of the human body’s main cooling mechanisms.”

    • #science
    • #sweat
    • #heat
    • #weather
    • #body heat
    • #temperature
  • 10 months ago
  • 441
  • Comments
  • Permalink
Share

Short URL

TwitterFacebookPinterestGoogle+

441 Notes/ Hide

  1. littleblack-submarines likes this
  2. allana690undercover reblogged this from scinerds
  3. milliondifferentways reblogged this from scinerds
  4. yateveo reblogged this from jtotheizzoe
  5. jane-potter reblogged this from jtotheizzoe
  6. thecallgirlofcthulhu reblogged this from logicianmagician
  7. pithyaphorisms reblogged this from jtotheizzoe
  8. divine-nocturne reblogged this from cracks-in-the-ceiling
  9. minowie likes this
  10. trevbox reblogged this from broriarty
  11. cracks-in-the-ceiling reblogged this from whatgodzillasaidtogod
  12. rustedpantheress reblogged this from tal9000
  13. llteaniebeanie likes this
  14. thatisfuckingkawaii likes this
  15. missmokushiroku reblogged this from jamilalikemanila
  16. madamedevideoland likes this
  17. whatgodzillasaidtogod reblogged this from jamilalikemanila
  18. incomprehensiblelentils reblogged this from alisonofagun
  19. purrloin likes this
  20. deweydell likes this
  21. offbeatorbit likes this
  22. jamilalikemanila reblogged this from aragingquiet
  23. aragingquiet reblogged this from tal9000
  24. starfleetgrad reblogged this from alisonofagun
  25. starfleetgrad likes this
  26. alisonofagun reblogged this from tal9000
  27. alisonofagun likes this
  28. tal9000 reblogged this from lesshumansmorecats
  29. climate-changing likes this
  30. ro-s-aspa-rks likes this
  31. lesshumansmorecats reblogged this from jtotheizzoe
  32. itsalljustenergyandinfoman reblogged this from jtotheizzoe
  33. graciekim reblogged this from jtotheizzoe
  34. itsthecurseofthehumangirl likes this
  35. itsthecurseofthehumangirl reblogged this from broriarty
  36. warmbreezes likes this
  37. iseethesilence likes this
  38. myfriendscallmemaury reblogged this from jtotheizzoe
  39. cassandy reblogged this from badbaadbeans and added:
    Blehh…my body temperature seems to run warmer than most people, so my tolerance for hot weather is really low. I will...
  40. matelate reblogged this from jtotheizzoe
  41. farahafrorie reblogged this from jtotheizzoe
  42. mach712 reblogged this from amillionlightreflections
  43. kraezilyunique likes this
  44. onedirectionfacingmecca likes this
  45. bencachadog-rn likes this
  46. fineandandy likes this
  47. generalbriefing likes this
  48. omniacausafiuntt reblogged this from jtotheizzoe
  49. scifigamingmom reblogged this from jtotheizzoe
  50. badbaadbeans reblogged this from johntanz
  51. Show more notesLoading...

Recent comments

Blog comments powered by Disqus
← Previous • Next →

Portrait/Logo

About

I'm Joe Hanson, Ph.D. biologist and host/writer of PBS Digital Studios' It's Okay To Be Smart. Check out my "Episode Extras" here. There's a lot of amazing science out there. Let's go discover it together.

"Everyone's favorite Feynman of the Tumblr era" - Maria Popova

Joe's science book recommendations, from brains to biology to space to art to physics.

This is an indie blog that takes many hours a week to publish. If you'd like to support It's Okay To Be Smart, please consider even a small donation.

One of Time Magazine's 30 Must-See Tumblrs - 2012

Featured in The Best Science Writing Online - 2012

Elsewhere:
Contact me
Follow me on Twitter
(Email: itsokaytobesmart at gmail)

Let's learn something together. Click the "Share" button to send a post to Twitter, Facebook, or Google+

I'm working to change the way science is communicated and restore it to its rightful place.

Want to see more great science-y stuff? Check out my LINKS page for some of my favorites.

The Curator's Code

Other Places to Find Me

  • @jtotheizzoe on Twitter
  • Facebook Profile
  • itsokaytobesmart on Youtube

Twitter

loading tweets…

  • RSS
  • Random
  • Archive
  • Ask me questions
  • Mobile
Effector Theme by Pixel Union