Heat and temperature Re: (TFT) unfinished Bendwyn (2nd try)

[Mark Tapley <mtapley@swri.edu>]

At 9:33 -0400 5/7/10, Jay wrote:
> The idea is that a Wizard can crank up the volume so to speak and create
> hotter flames via larger expendatures of fST.

Don't confuse heat and temperature. Temperature measures average 
kinetic energy of molecules moving around in a sample - but the 
sample can be arbitrarily small. Heat is more like the product of 
temperature and mass.

Take a piece of aluminum foil and a cast-iron skillet in the oven at 
600C. You can pick up the foil - it *was* at 600 C, but it's so light 
that it can't transfer enough heat to your hand to damage you before 
it cools down.

Don't pick up the cast-iron skillet. Lots more mass, lots more heat, 
definitely can damage you.

This is a lot like the speed vs. momentum discussion a few days back. 
One atom at high speed = high temperature, but not much heat. A 
locomotive at high speed = high temperature, lots of mass, lots of 
heat -> dangerous.

So the wizard will have to crank up the volume *twice* - once to get 
higher temperature, then again to get it over a larger mass (and 
really, it's the *product* of the two that he should have to spend) - 
at least if magic converts linearly to measurable heat energy.
--
						- Mark     210-379-4635
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Large Asteroids headed toward planets
inhabited by beings that don't have
technology adequate to stop them:

				Think of it as Evolution in Fast-Forward.
=====
Post to the entire list by writing to tft@brainiac.com.
Unsubscribe by mailing to majordomo@brainiac.com with the message body
"unsubscribe tft"