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[Phys-l] Marylin vos Savant again!



Marylin vos Savant was recently asked:

”I understand why using a fan on the back porch, where the temperature is
102, won’t cool me off, because the air is warmer than I am. But why does
sitting in front of the fan make me feel hotter than not using a fan at all?
I can’t wrap my brain around this!”.

Marylin replied:

“Sitting right in front of a fan, especially when it’s turned up all the
way, may cause your skin moisture (a.k.a. sweat!) to dry up, taking away
your body’s main means of cooling itself. When the temperature is
dangerously high and there’s no air-conditioning, spending long periods of
time in front of a fan can be risky unless you mist yourself frequently. If
your skin gets blown dry, you could develop heat exhaustion—or worse,
heatstroke.”


Bob Sciamanda
Physics, Edinboro Univ of PA (Em)
treborsci@verizon.net
http://mysite.verizon.net/res12merh/