The Student Room Group

insulation / sound - general interest

Hi,

I'm a biologist, I know nothing about physics but I think it's really interesting - I come in peace!
Every now and then I come up with weird questions that I think a physicist can answer so:

Body insulation: if I were to apply moisturizer to my entire body would that act as an extra bit of insulation to keep me warm?

Sound: If say something fell over in a room, would you hear it louder if the windows were shut than if the windows were open? So if the windows were open would the show waves escape and make it quieter when you heard it?
Reply 1
If you applied moisturiser to your skin then there would be a transfer of thermal energy from your body to the liquid, which would make your skin feel colder than if you hadn't used moisturiser.

I agree with you on the second point, sound waves reflect at boundaries between different types of materials so you would have more reflecting towards you if the windows were shut, the significance of this effect may be quite small and dependent on where you're standing relative to the window.

Quick Reply

Latest