Re: Heat disposition in space

Hi,

The interesting part is that there are several independent
physical phenomena that we call heat. In space, there is
essentially zero convective or conductive transfer of heat
since in vacuo there is nothing to mediate these processes.

However, near stars, the amount of radiant heat can be
enormous. That is why spacecraft are either white or silvered.
These coatings reflect some of the radiant energy,
especially near the most intense frequencies emitted from
the Sun.

In the vast interstellar void, the temperature of space
approaches the background level, which is very cold indeed.

Cheers,
Tony Christney

On Sunday, March 16, 2003, at 11:36 PM, Thomas Barclay wrote:
>
> I find the whole space is cold, space is hot thing
> interesting. In some sci-fi, you see it depicted
> as amazingly cold, in others, things boil. The
> truth is, if I've got it right, space (a vaccuum) is
> temperatureless (no matter to have a
> temperature). The heat is the heat you bring
> with you or generate, and the cold is the result
> of things like your O2 being allowed to vent into
> a zero pressure.... thus sucking in heat to
> expand (endothermic?). Kind of a neat
> combination of problems, really.
>
> Tomb
> ----------------------------------------------------
> Mr. Thomas Barclay
> Software Developer & Systems Analyst
> thomas.barclay@stargrunt.ca
> ----------------------------------------------------
>