[neilep (OP)]

Hmmm...methinks I may have just realised the answer that 'cold ' is the nature of things ?.....because heat is generated by reaction and friction and other heat making stuff eh ?


I was going to ask if ' heat ' is the absence of 'cold ' or is 'cold ' just the absence of ' heat' ?

Or shall I just delete this because it's nonsense ?

Men are the same as women, just inside out !

[Laith]

Heat is generated by the motion of atoms, molecules, and other particles that make up matter, as well as chemical, nuclear reactions, electricity and mechanical dissipation (friction).
I say cold is just the absence of heat, or when comparing things colder is just having less heat.

Laith

[ukmicky]

No Cold is the absense of energy or is it energy is the absence of cold.

Or does that makes less sense than yours []

Michael

[MayoFlyFarmer]

scientifically speaking, there is no such thing as "cold" just heat, or less heat.

Are YOUR mice nude? []

[Karen W.]

I immediately laughed and said to my self, " What!!!!!!" Isn't cold the absence of heat! But know I am confused, but that doesn't take much to do! HEHEhE!
 Mayoflyfarmer, Can you clarify that statement for the layman here,(me) as I don't understand, "scientifically speaking, there is no such thing as "cold" just heat, or less heat."
How or where would no heat fit into your statement. Wouldn't there come a point in the lack of heat where there becomes cold or no heat?
  Would we measure what heat was in comparison to ouir own body temperature or how would that work?
  Man I think I have confused myself!...Karen

[Karen W.]

I stepped in the P***P over my head!

[Karen W.]

Would there be a baseline temperature to establish what is considered heat in the first place, in order to establish that there is even a lack of heat to begin with?

[neilep (OP)]

Of course you're not way over your head Karen !..I think it's clear which one of the two of us is !

I did say that perhaps I was citing nonsense.....and I did conclude that cold is the nature of things...but perhaps one could say ' inactivity ' is the absence of ' activity ' where temperature is involved !

uh oh !!

Men are the same as women, just inside out !

[Karen W.]

Yes you did my friend, and then further comments after yours just set my head into a spin and then I began to think a bit more and one thing lead to another! You see how my brain works, oh my goodness sometimes I think I question too many things! Your original post started the center of a web for me, and now my head is in a quandry!
  Neil you are remarkable and I am amazed at the way you think. I wish at times that my mind had your knack of deduction and reasoning. You are quick and I am very slow catching on to things. I have to mull things over and ponder them for along time before they make any sense to me!

[Cut Chemist]

At absolute zero,
0 Kelivin,
-273 degrees Celcius,
all molecular motion ceases.  

That is the absence of heat and that is cold,  
as cold as you can get as a matter of fact.  

Any temperature above that, even though it might feel cold still contains some heat.

[daveshorts]

On a molecular level, temperature is approximately a measure of the amount of energy each atom has, so if you double the temperature you double the amount of energy each molecule has, be it vibrating, flying around etc. We call this energy heat.

This means that there could conceivably be a state with zero temperature, where all the molecules have no heat. This occurs at -273.17°C which is called absolute zero, although for other reasons you couldn't get there.

Cold stuff is just stuff with not very much heat energy.

ps. questioning is a ver good feature

[Karen W.]

-273 degrees, and I thought I was cold at 60 degrees. Wow, I did not even know the temp could go that low! Wow! Thanks Dave and cut  chemist, I think that helps me somewhat more!

So does this mean the more energy a molecule has the more heat there would be present in said molecule? Or maybe in the human being? Would that apply to me also, as that makes sense in my rather dense mind that the more energy I get would produce more heat. So my energy would be directly related to my body temperature. Does ones body temp drop when energy levels fall? Oh.... wait,.... When one is sleeping ones energy has depleted and does not body temperature fall as one falls asleep, or am I off subject here or what?....Karen

[Karen W.]

Hey Neil I think I've got you now. Reaction and friction are generated by energy and thus produces heat! Is that right?

 Shoot, I have to get ready for work, you guys don't go away, "I'LL BE BACK," as this is very interesting, I love learning new things ...Karen

[neilep (OP)]

I think you've got it karen....have a great day at work...we'll be here when you return .


Actually...Karens post above begs the question...what comes first ? energy or activity ?...can you have one without the other ?...do you not need one to make the other ?

Men are the same as women, just inside out !

[Karen W.]

One more thing, you know when you just feel tired and lithless and have no energy, I just realized those are the times I become a couch potato and curl up with a WARM BLANKET, because I am always cold when I get in that mode. Perhaps I need a boost of energy to change body temperature as well as to get out of that couch potato funk!

[Karen W.]

Neil, That is exactly my next question! Wow! I can't go to work now, I am on a roll and my mind is working on overtime, do get an answer to that one for me too! see you later friend!....Karen

[MayoFlyFarmer]

Technically heat is the MOVEMENT or transfer of energy, to precieve that something is warm, you have to feel the heat coming off of it which means that it is moving.  For instance if you wrap your hands around a warm coffee mug and it feels warm.  This is because the mug the molecules in the mug are at a higher energy state than the molecules in your hand.  as things tend twoards equilibrium the energy from the mug will leave the mug and enter your hand.  (you sense this energy coming into your hand as heat).  The mug will feel warm until it had equilibrated with your hand, inwhich case the energy levels are aqll the same, so there is no more net flow of energy.  
we say this is because the mug "cooled off" but really what happened is that your hand warmed up.  All units in scientific equations for energy transfer are for heat not cold.  Joules and Calories are positive innature meaning more calories = more energy less calories = less energy.  you never "add cold" to something, to "take heat away" from it.  Absolute zero (-273 celcius) is the point at which a molecule has no energy therefore you cant take any energy away from it, thus its the coldest possible temperature.  The fact that there is no upper absolute temperature is why we always think of energy in a positive manner (heat) rather than a negative one (cold)
I don't know if I'm just restating the same thing over and over again, but hopefully this explains it a little bit better karen.



Are YOUR mice nude? []

[neilep (OP)]

Thanks Justy..

So, as Dave states above, the reason why we can never reach absolute zero is because that would mean complete and total inactivity of everything...which is impossible eh ?..as that would then be the end of that !!..the Universe would suddenly turn into a solid ice cube !


I propose an experiment akin to my shower curtain experiment where all members of this site pretend to be molecules of coffee and rub up against each other to see if we can increase the heat !..all in the name of science of course...because it's important !






(note to self: stop displaying your perverted friction orientated tendencies)

Men are the same as women, just inside out !

[ROBERT]

If you are cold Neilep, you could start a fire using a condom :-

The condom full of water acts as a lens focussing the rays of the sun.
No friction required.

[neilep (OP)]

Wooo !!

That looks great !!....

I really must remember my condoms next time I'm out in the snow...just in case I run into a particularly attractive polar bear.......ahem !!...erhhmm...so that I can make a polar bear kebab of course !!

..thing is...will it work with my ribbed Black & Red Luminous condoms ?

Men are the same as women, just inside out !