1.0 - Whenever I make fun connections to non-engineering stuff. Well, in the traditional sense of the word. We in the major (like any major) like to think that everything is engineering. People hate us for this.
You know that weirdness about how when you breathe out with your mouth open hot air comes out, but when you breathe out with wittle itty bitty kissy wips, cold air comes out? No, there is not a mini thermostat in there, though that would be friggin awesome. Nor are you cold hearted (well, maybe you are, but cold kissy breathe is not related to the relative warmth of your heart).
This is a phenomenon that is called I-don't-know-what. I'm sure it does have a name, but I don't know it because only the really complicated things get names.
Essentially, this has to do with mass flow (your breath) through a nozzle (your kissy wips) or a diffuser (the "she must be unlisted" type of breathing). Basically, as you lower the exit area for a gas while raising the velocity, through some boring thermodynamic properties that we can ignore, the temperature of said gas will decrease. Sure, in theory it is possible to "she must be unlisted" breathe out hot air, but it would have to be really friggin fast. To the tune of 50 times faster than your kissy-wips breathing. Given the limited capacity of our lungs, it's pretty much impossible. Don't go collapsing anything trying to do this.
This is just something that has always seemed a little curious to me and I never would have thought that I would figure out the why while studying mechanical engineering. Truth is, we are machines ladies and gentlemen.
Now that's some hot breath.
1 comment:
I've always wondered about that. I'd assumed it was an illusion. Nice to know that there is some thermodynamics behind it.
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