🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1993Jan27.070005.13031@mr.med.ge.com>, hinz@bonfire (David Hinz (hinz@picard.med.ge.com)) writes:
> I don't know if I buy the freeze in seconds bit.  As I recall reading,
> perhaps here, space is not so good at being a heat sink.  Yes, it's
> quite cold (not many moving molecules), but it can't carry heat away
> from you too fast (same reason).

Umm, the temperature is *not* measured by the number of moving molecules,
but rather their velocity distribution.  You are correct, however, in
saying they cannot transfer much heat out of a body.  Convection and
conduction are definitely unimportant heat gain/loss mechanisms in
the vacuum of space.  Radiational heating/cooling and heat of phase
change (e.g. evaporation of volatiles) are more important, yet still
not high rate under conditions of a human body exposed in space.

(Well, radiational heating at 1 A.U. *is* pretty significant - ask
anyone who has gotten sunburned by falling asleep on the beach).

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