How can outer space be cold?

[Yoga Face]

Outer Space is neither hot nor cold ( I like the question ) it is simply a medium for heat to move through in the form of radiation


But your body heat is not radiation ( or is it ? does your body heat turn back into the solar radiation from whence it came ?) so you will lose heat very slowly as there is very little in space to transfer your heat to

You will survive until you lose your oxygen like you would under water but you will not freeze or explode



If you are unprotected from the sun you slowly burn up as the suns radiation is transfered to your cadaver

They should throw a pig out of the space lab to see WTF happens

My guess is in a few days they got roasted pig for supper (as long as they keep turning it over )


Most space movies get it wrong but they got it right in Space Odyssey

Here Dave survives outer space long enough to shut the doors by holding his breath ! Also notice there is no noise until he shuts the pod bay doors and air comes into the vacuum as noise does not move in a vacuum. They always get that wrong even in Star Trek !

So if the noise does not move and noise is energy WTF happens to the noise ? Does it stay within the explosion making the explosion bigger ?

 

[GPIDEAL]

Generally, about 3 degrees Kelvin which is minus 270 degrees Celsius (I stand myself corrected). In pure space, theoretically Absolute Zero or 0 degrees Kelvin or -273 degrees Celsius.

Note that this excludes absorption of solar radiation which can heat up surfaces to 120 degrees Celsius.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_temperature_in_space

 

[Mervyn]

Outer Space is neither hot nor cold ( I like the question ) it is simply a medium for heat to move through in the form of radiation

Radiation however is not heat , it is a different form of energy which, when it comes in contact with an object ( be is liquid, solid, or gas ) excites the molecules of said object, creating friction, which then creates heat....

Sheesh, even science can be dirty

Without that medium, there is no heat. This is Why we feel the sun's heat, it's radiation affecting the atmosphere.

Noise is similiar to heat in that it requires a medium in which to travel , it needs something to vibrate

 

[shakenbake]

Radiation however is not heat , it is a different form of energy which, when it comes in contact with an object ( be is liquid, solid, or gas ) excites the molecules of said object, creating friction, which then creates heat....

Sheesh, even science can be dirty

Without that medium, there is no heat. This is Why we feel the sun's heat, it's radiation affecting the atmosphere.

Noise is similiar to heat in that it requires a medium in which to travel , it needs something to vibrate

Wrongooooo.

Heat and radiation are both defined as a forms of energy.

 

[GPIDEAL]

Wrongooooo.

Heat and radiation are both defined as a forms of energy.

He said that radiation is not 'heat' but a different form of energy. He didn't say that 'heat' was not energy.

 

[Yoga Face]

He said that radiation is not 'heat' but a different form of energy. He didn't say that 'heat' was not energy.

It is simple

If it is not mass it is energy

There is nothing else

 

[Yoga Face]

I KNEW THIS WAS GONNA BE OVER MY HEAD

The question is not what is the temperature of space, as space is a vacuum it has no molecules to excite so it seems like a non question, but what is the temperature in space

So the question is do we radiate heat ? like the sun does ? in the form of radiation waves ? If so we will cool to very close to absolute zero but if we need an object to transfer heat to then we will cool very slowly as there is very little matter in space to transfer our heat to , I think

 

[basketcase]

No place to radiate your heat into so you should remain at the same temperatue ? unless the sun warms you up ? So eventually you will boil as the radiation of millions of suns reaches you ?

Who said it is cold in space ??

The radiated heat is actual radiation - as in electro-magnetic waves - the same as light.

Google 'Black Body Radiation'.

 

[Yoga Face]

The radiated heat is actual radiation - as in electro-magnetic waves - the same as light.

Google 'Black Body Radiation'.

Yes light is only part of the spectrum . It depends on how close the waves are to each other that defines them, I think

But they are not really waves as they behave like particles as well

Think about it

It is empty space so what can light wave through when there is nothing there

Physicists are just beginning to comprehend the magnitude of this paradox

 

[shakenbake]

He said that radiation is not 'heat' but a different form of energy. He didn't say that 'heat' was not energy.

Sorry, my bad. Too much stress on a Friday, and i am under the ehat of my employer ;~)

 

[Mervyn]

I KNEW THIS WAS GONNA BE OVER MY HEAD

The question is not what is the temperature of space, as space is a vacuum it has no molecules to excite so it seems like a non question, but what is the temperature in space

So the question is do we radiate heat ? like the sun does ? in the form of radiation waves ? If so we will cool to very close to absolute zero but if we need an object to transfer heat to then we will cool very slowly as there is very little matter in space to transfer our heat to , I think

From Nasa

http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/379068main_Temperature_of_Space.pdf

Although the vacuum of space has no temperature, objects traveling through space do. The International Space Station (ISS) has many different temperatures in various locations and these temperatures are constantly changing. There are many factors responsible for these varying temperatures. Two of the more significant factors are that the ISS is made of many different materials and it is constantly moving between sunlight and shade. In fact, ISS orbits Earth once every 90 minutes with a “day” and “night” occurring during each orbit.

One also has to remember that there are lots of stuff out there, large portions of it are not truly empty. Other websites have the Temperature though at being between 2-3 Kelvin.

I wonder if dark matter theory comes into this ?

 

[Moraff]

I KNEW THIS WAS GONNA BE OVER MY HEAD

The question is not what is the temperature of space, as space is a vacuum it has no molecules to excite so it seems like a non question, but what is the temperature in space

So the question is do we radiate heat ? like the sun does ? in the form of radiation waves ? If so we will cool to very close to absolute zero but if we need an object to transfer heat to then we will cool very slowly as there is very little matter in space to transfer our heat to , I think

It's a tough subject as a lot of it is not intuitive. Let me take a crack at it for ya.

There are three ways that heat energy can move from one object to another.

Conduction: Directly from one solid (for simplicity solids means things that are not gases, so it includes liquids) to another. IE grabbing hold of a cold can of soda. The cold you feel is the heat from your hand being conducted into the cold can.

Convection: The heat moves from a solid to a gas to another solid. Think of being in a room, but there's a large sofa between you and the radiator so you can't see it. The heat you feel has come from the radiator, heated the air (the gas) and the air has heated you.

and lastly. Radiation: Heat energy that has transferred between you and the heat source w/o having to have any gas in between. This is how the sun heats the earth, or a bonfire heats you on the side facing it while the air around you can still be quite chilly. Also, have you ever held your hand close to someone's sunburn/fever and felt the heat "radiating" off them?

So yes we do radiate heat just like the sun, we also - since we're not in a vacuum - give off heat by convection through the air and by conduction when we touch something cooler than ourselves.

Which takes us to the vacuum thermos in space. The vacuum bottle does not prevent heat loss it just slows it down because it reduces heat transfer via conduction due to the space between the inner and outer bottle to only that where the two come together at the top as well as by convection due to the vacuum (no gas => no convection) so it can only do it mainly by radiation.

Whether or not the heat increases or decreases will depend on three things. a) how hot is the heat source (ie people and any heat producing machinery) inside the bottle, b) is the bottle in the sun or in the shade and c) how quickly can heat cross between the bottle and space.

If the bottle is in the sun, then heat will be proceeding into the bottle on all of the bottle receiving sunlight and only losing heat on the side in the shade. Likely the bottle will need some sort of additional equipment to dissipate heat. If we're in the shade we're going to be radiating heat from the bottle in all directions and it will depend on how quickly that heat can radiate to determine whether or not the internal heat source(s) are enough to sufficiently heat the bottle's interior or not. (yes there will be some heat input from all the distant stars, but at their distances the heat energy they provide is probably close enough to zero to ignore as compared to our sun).

 

[Thousand]

If you consider earth as just an object in space, then you could predict how the heat transfer cycle works.

 

[chris123]

The coldest place in the universe is in Scandinavia. Fact.
























Practically absolute zero produced in a lab.

 

[Yoga Face]

It's a tough subject as a lot of it is not intuitive. Let me take a crack at it for ya.

There are three ways that heat energy can move from one object to another.

Conduction: Directly from one solid (for simplicity solids means things that are not gases, so it includes liquids) to another. IE grabbing hold of a cold can of soda. The cold you feel is the heat from your hand being conducted into the cold can.

Convection: The heat moves from a solid to a gas to another solid. Think of being in a room, but there's a large sofa between you and the radiator so you can't see it. The heat you feel has come from the radiator, heated the air (the gas) and the air has heated you.

and lastly. Radiation: Heat energy that has transferred between you and the heat source w/o having to have any gas in between. This is how the sun heats the earth, or a bonfire heats you on the side facing it while the air around you can still be quite chilly. Also, have you ever held your hand close to someone's sunburn/fever and felt the heat "radiating" off them?

So yes we do radiate heat just like the sun, we also - since we're not in a vacuum - give off heat by convection through the air and by conduction when we touch something cooler than ourselves.

Which takes us to the vacuum thermos in space. The vacuum bottle does not prevent heat loss it just slows it down because it reduces heat transfer via conduction due to the space between the inner and outer bottle to only that where the two come together at the top as well as by convection due to the vacuum (no gas => no convection) so it can only do it mainly by radiation.

Whether or not the heat increases or decreases will depend on three things. a) how hot is the heat source (ie people and any heat producing machinery) inside the bottle, b) is the bottle in the sun or in the shade and c) how quickly can heat cross between the bottle and space.

If the bottle is in the sun, then heat will be proceeding into the bottle on all of the bottle receiving sunlight and only losing heat on the side in the shade. Likely the bottle will need some sort of additional equipment to dissipate heat. If we're in the shade we're going to be radiating heat from the bottle in all directions and it will depend on how quickly that heat can radiate to determine whether or not the internal heat source(s) are enough to sufficiently heat the bottle's interior or not. (yes there will be some heat input from all the distant stars, but at their distances the heat energy they provide is probably close enough to zero to ignore as compared to our sun).

Gooooood answer Moraff

So we radiate heat in the form whence it came - invisible light waves !

So this means we will freeze solid in space as we lose our heat (but this will take time) as there is very little conduction, or convection ,occurring, I think

 

[smiley1437]

From About.com: What Happens to The Human Body in A Vacuum

Summary - saliva in your mouth might start to boil, you'd probably eventually get something like 'the bends', if you tried to hold your breath your lungs would burst, you could get a bad sunburn, it would take time for you to cool (depending on radiative heat exposure, I guess), and if you got repressurized quick, you might actually be okay:

From About.com: What Happens to The Human Body in A Vacuum


In the 1981 movie "Outland", starring Sean Connery, there is a scene where a construction worker in space gets a hole in his suit. As the air leaks out, the internal pressure drops and his body is exposed to a vacuum, we watch in horror through his faceplate as he swells, and explodes.
A somewhat similar scene is in the 1990 Arnold Schwarzenegger movie, "Total Recall." In that movie, Schwarzenegger leaves the pressure of the habitat of a Mars colony and begins to blow up like a balloon in the much lower pressure of the Mars atmosphere, not quite a vacuum. He is saved by the creation of an entirely new atmosphere by an ancient alien machine.

The question is, what happens to the human body in a vacuum?

No, the body won't blow up. Your blood won't boil, either.
There are a number of things about being in space, in a vacuum, which could cause harm to the human body. You wouldn't want to hold your breath. This would cause lung damage. You would probably remain conscious for several seconds, until the blood without oxygen reaches your brain.

It would be pretty darn cold, but the human body doesn't lose heat that fast, so you'd have a little time before you froze to death. It's possible you could have some problems with your eardrums, including a rupture, but maybe not. It would be worse if you had a cold, and were stuffy headed, with no way for the pressure to equalize.

You could get a bad sunburn, and you might actually swell some, but not to Arnold Schwarzenegger, "Total Recall" proportions. The "bends" are also possible, just like a diver who surfaces too quickly.

While your own normal blood pressure will keep your blood from boiling, the saliva in your mouth could very well begin to do so. In 1965, while performing tests at the NASA facility now known as Johnson Space Center a subject was accidentally exposed to a near vacuum (less than 1 psi) when his space suit leaked while in a vacuum chamber. He did not pass out for about 14 seconds, by which time unoxygenated blood had reached his brain. Technicians began to repressurize the chamber within 15 seconds and he regained consciousness at around the equivalent of 15,000 feet of altitude. He later said that his last conscious memory was of the water on his tongue beginning to boil.

The human body is amazingly resilient. The worst problem would be lack of oxygen, not lack of pressure in the vacuum. If returned to a normal atmosphere fairly quickly, you would survive with few if any irreversible injuries.

There have actually been cases of parts of astronauts bodies being exposed to vacuum, when suits were damaged. The results were negligible.

 

[Yoga Face]

While your own normal blood pressure will keep your blood from boiling, the saliva in your mouth could very well begin to do so.


The things we learn on TERB ! But this means you will explode after you lose your blood pressure as water boils when under no pressure , I think. then you slowly freeze

 

[basketcase]

Yes light is only part of the spectrum . It depends on how close the waves are to each other that defines them, I think

But they are not really waves as they behave like particles as well

Think about it

It is empty space so what can light wave through when there is nothing there

Physicists are just beginning to comprehend the magnitude of this paradox

I love terb. You get the chance to argue with people who have absolutely no idea what they are going on about.

Yes photons have some particle like properties but they do travel as waves and are a means of energy transfer. They are also self propagating - a changing electric field creates a changing magnetic field creates a changing electric field...

There's no paradox in terms of how light travels through a vacuum, unless you're living in the 19th century. Next thing you know we will see talk about the ether in space and that the earth is flat and is the center of the universe.

 

[shakenbake]

I love terb. You get the chance to argue with people who have absolutely no idea what they are going on about.

Yes photons have some particle like properties but they do travel as waves and are a means of energy transfer. They are also self propagating - a changing electric field creates a changing magnetic field creates a changing electric field...

There's no paradox in terms of how light travels through a vacuum, unless you're living in the 19th century. Next thing you know we will see talk about the ether in space and that the earth is flat and is the center of the universe.

Louis De Broglie and Wave-Particle Duality! Of course, he was one of many gerat minds who brought this concept to the forefront.

1. L. de Broglie, Recherches sur la théorie des quanta (Researches on the quantum theory), Thesis (Paris), 1924; L. de Broglie, Ann. Phys. (Paris) 3, 22 (1925). Reprinted in Ann. Found. Louis de Broglie 17 (1992) p. 22.
2. His Nobel Prize in 1929.

 

[Yoga Face]

I love terb. You get the chance to argue with people who have absolutely no idea what they are going on about.
.

And you get to be insulted ! No I am not a physicist, (and I am not arguing) I have no such pretensions, and I appreciate any correction .Thank you

Yes photons have some particle like properties but they do travel as waves and are a means of energy transfer.
.

I was not aware that science feels it has solved the duality paradox I became aware of it in Asimovs science books ( a great read for the common man ) but are now outdated
Here is an explanation ( Not that I understand it )

"The 'Particle' is two identical spherical waves traveling radially in opposite directions so that together they form a spherical standing wave. The wave which travels inward towards the center is called an In-Wave, and the wave traveling outward is an Out-Wave. The nominal location of the ‘Particle’ is the Wave-Center, but as must be true for any charged Particle, it has presence everywhere in Space because the charge forces extend throughout the Universe"
Dr Milo Wolff, 1990

They are also self propagating - a changing electric field creates a changing magnetic field creates a changing electric field....

Alternating north south magnetic fields create alternating current which I think is what you are referring to



However .... I am sure you are aware of the double slit experiment where a light wave function collapses whenever it is observed or can they explain this as well ?