Why don't we get burnt when we...?

Question

Why is it that we can touch ourselves, and other people who, are 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit but if we touch a plate, or a stove, or anything else that temperature we will burn ourselves?

Answer 1

i didnt got your question properly

Answer 2

you are mistaken if you think that a plate, or a stove, or anything else at 98.6 degrees (Fahrenheit) will burn you.

Your hypothesis is invalid.

perhaps you are confusing body temperature at around 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit and the much hotter 98.6 degrees Celsius that would clearly burn you. 98.6 degrees Celsius is equal to 209.5 degrees Fahrenheit. There isn't anyone (alive) that has a body temperature of 209.5 degrees Fahrenheit.

Answer 3

Sorry--John (and others) are right and you are wrong.  A metal rod at 98.6 degrees F. will not burn you.  Neither will anything else at that temperature.

Most likely, you did not measure the temperature of the rod correctly, and it was hotter that 98.6 deg. F.

An object would have to be considerably hotter than that--say, at least 150-175 degrees to burn your flesh.

Answer 4

Everything has a conduction heat transfer property. This is a unique material property  by which the rate of heat tansfer occurs. Example. Air at 70 degrees removes heat from your body relativly slowly, hence you do not feel cold in a 70 degree room. Water at 70 degrees has an altogether different effect. Try going swimming in 70 drgree water. It feels one h**l of a lot colder than 70 degree air. Water will conduct heat away from your body much faster than air. When you feel hot or cold you feel the rate of heat transfer. Each material conducts faster or slower thus you feel things the same temperature as hotter or colder.

BTW you should get your temperature measuring device checked, stuff that is 100 degrees aint gonna burn you.

Answer 5

Most metals have a fairly high specific heat as compared to biological materials. Aluminum would be one exception. You can pick up a sheet of aluminum foil straight from a hot oven with your bare hands and not burn yourself, because its specific heat is so low.

Answer 6

Your thermometer must have been wrong.

I use waterbaths set to 37oC (~99 degrees farenheit) all the time, and can immerse my hand in the water just fine. Are you sure you hadn't heated the probe to 98.7oC (nearly the boiling point of water)?

Answer 7

You will not get burned if you heat any material to 98f and touch it.  It may feel slightly warm as your skin temp is usually a little cooler (about 96).  However if you heat somthing to 98c, that will burn you.

How do you know the temperature of the item you heated?  If it burned you or you were unable to hold on to it, it was much hotter than 98.

Answer 8

Metal is a good heat conductor it removes heat that's why we use it for heat sinks. it pulls heat out of your skin so it feels cooler

Answer 9

Dear friend: here is my experience:

There are materials, like a plastic recipient, that you can put in a fridge, go down to water freezing temp and when you touch it you do not "feel" it so cold, that is becouse some materials do not give off heat, aluminum, in the other hand, feels very cold in the same case.

I once made an experiment, I had to rise the temperature of a large tank of water to 148ºF.  (65ºC.), when the temp. was rising, I was putting my hand in it every few minutes, I could feel the variations, when the temp. got to 63ºC. I had to pull out my hand INMEDIATAMETE!, i could not resist it. not even for a second.  I am e mechanic, I am very used to grab hot metal, I have seen mechanics hold very hot metal items, (blue hot) with dirty hands, and you can hear a hissing noise, but if you constantly move the part in your hand, it does not burn. I would reccomend you to put a metal part inside a recipient with water, put a thermometer, heat it to 98.6º F. and try touching the metal, or water. personally I find hard to belive it burns at that temperature.

Truly yours. [e-mail]

Answer 10

our internal body temp is 98.6, but our skin temp is closer to 70-80.

But an object at 98 F is not hot enough to burn you.