Hello esteemed council, and welcome to Thursday, otherwise known as sister mercy Bossy has been posting every weekday for three and a half weeks and it’s all blending together.
Today Bossy was wondering if you could help her untie a twisty knot between her logic and rationale.
First Bossy should explain she thinks of herself as somewhat of a scientist, which Bossy’s children like to make fun of, preferably while eating the pricey Boursin Bossy purchased with her large scientific brain.
Anyway. It all began last Thursday. It was in the evening, and Bossy had a bunch of stuff in her car she would need on the drive the next morning because Bossy was going on a weekend-long Yoga retreat and Bossy knows, you would rather hear about the Yoga retreat!
So. There Bossy stood in her driveway peacefully meditating on the stuff in her car and whether it could stay in the freezing car — and when Bossy says she was peacefully meditating she means she called her brother cursing.
Bossy explained to her brother that although the temperature was dipping below the freezing mark as ever, Bossy was exhausted and therefore wanted to leave the bottled water and orange juice in the car, as well as her iPod shuffle and other technology. Overnight.
“I can just cover everything with that down coat,” Bossy said.
“But that’s not how it works, right?” Bossy’s brother questioned. “You can cover inanimate objects with a layer of insulation, but if the stuff underneath isn’t generating heat, I believe it freezes.”
Dear council: do you know what would happen to Bossy’s things had she left them under the down coat?
If you liked this scientific post about science, click here to read Bossy’s post about how Shipwrecks Are Good For Your Health.
Or read this post about Things Ancient Egypt Has In Common With Bossy’s Campground.
Or if you do nothing else, click this link to read Bossy’s Dr. Seuss poem starring this exact down coat. You won’t want to miss this, because it features Bossy’s Son, and will make you cry! Yay Thursday!
unmitigated me says
March 28, 2013 at 10:56 amThis esteemed council member is a science teacher, and can confirm that Bossy’s brother is correct. Down jackets do not generate heat, they trap heat. Since water expands when it freezes, Bossy would probably have come out to a very wet down jacket in the morning.
Cactus Petunia says
March 28, 2013 at 1:26 pmOh, Bossy. Your brother is a very diplomatic sort!
BSTBXH says
March 28, 2013 at 4:43 pmBossy’s brother is wrong – SORT OF.
Down jackets do not generate heat or trap heat. they insulate, and by insulate I mean they slow down the exchange of heat (and therefore change of temperature) between what is outside the jacket and what is inside the jacket.
Think about it. The coffee in you thermos doesn’t generate any heat, and yet somehow, magically, it stays hot (almost – maybe not to Bossy standards!) all day!
Why? Because “Thermos” is another word for “Insulated Bottle” – INSULATED, which means it is separated from the air surrounding it, by some sort of insulating material. The insulating material, while it does not eliminate the desire and ability for Bossy’s coffee to become the same temperature as the air surrounding Bossy’s thermos, the insulation slows the process greatly.
So, the answer to Bossy’s question is, maybe!
It depends on the starting temperature of said juice and water, exactly how far below freezing the inside of the car would get that night, and the level of insulation provided by said down jacket.
Given the insulating properties of the down jacket in question, the car in question, the climate in question, the amount of time it would’ve spent in the car before being retrieved in the morning (having done similar things myself both purposefully and accidentally :-O in the past many times) in my humble opinion, it would’ve been just fine!
PS – and iPod of any kind would be utterly unaffected by freezing temperatures. You just have to let it warm up before using it, you know, condensation and stuff like that…
joeinvegas says
March 28, 2013 at 6:14 pmSpeaking of that last link, how is Bossy’s son doing in college? When is graduation?
Jenn @ Juggling Life says
March 29, 2013 at 11:03 pmI don’t associate with freezing weather, so I have no idea.
Ally says
March 30, 2013 at 1:06 pmwhat BSTBXH said, except I’m on the fence about whether the level of insulation, the starting temp of the items in the vehicle, and how cold it was outside. Probably would have been okay, however.
But the iPod for sure would have been fine. No moving parts to warm up.
Lynn says
March 30, 2013 at 7:12 pmBrother rules…he’s right. Aren’t you glad you listenned to him? I had to learn the “hard” way myself.
Her Ace in the Hole says
April 8, 2013 at 1:29 pmI just immediately thought that your iPod had less of a chance of being stolen since it was hiding under a coat.
Frozen iPod, that is.