Science Poll: Should I Keep It On or Take It Off? (My Coat, I Mean. :) )

[Eriech]

Eriech, that sounds like a thoughtful thing to do, but how can wearing my coat keep other people warm? I'm curious about that.

A good question. I am curious too.

 

[Emily L]

Do a scientific study. Might actually be fun. I think 4-6 times would be sufficient. Stay outside and inside at the same time. Of course with the coat on and then off. 15 min?
Write down how you feel each time. You'll know.

Ah, HA! The Scientific Method! Experimentation! Maybe I can do that--and in the process, build up my arm muscles by taking the coat off and on so much ( ). Thanks. Hip!

 

[Emily L]

A shot of fireball will warm you up the quickest on a cold day.

I think we have a winner!

 

[Emily L]

A good question. I am curious too.

Why do I feel like I'm talking to Grouch Marx? ( )

 

[Emily L]

More people have voted and it's STILL a tie!

We'll have to go into overtime!

 

[phoenix2020]

What is the temperature of the inner surface of the jacket (T1) versus the ambient air temperature inside the house (T2)?

If T1 >= T2, keep the jacket on

If T2 > T1, take it off immediately

 

[longview]

Thanks, Senor!

I always say that it's better to take the coat off as quickly as possible. My thinking is that the outside surfaces of the coat are still cold, so the room heat would take longer to get to your body. But if you take the coat off quickly, the room heat will immediately get to your skin. Doesn't that make sense?

If you go to places with cold weather, like Canada, there are usually coat hooks in the mud room.
I agree with you, a heavy wet coat would delay the time it takes for the warm air to have an effect,
it is after all what a coat does (slow down heat transfer).

 

[Emily L]

What is the temperature of the inner surface of the jacket (T1) versus the ambient air temperature inside the house (T2)?

If T1 >= T2, keep the jacket on

If T2 > T1, take it off immediately

Hey, that's right! It doesn't really depend on the temperature of the OUTSIDE surface of the coat (or jacket), but the INSIDE surface!

So, if I feel cold when I first come into the house (that part is important), then it's reasonable to assume that, if the people in the room are comfortable, the inside surface of the coat must be colder than the air in the room. I should therefore take the coat off. That makes sense!

Thanks, Phoenix!

 

[Emily L]

If you go to places with cold weather, like Canada, there are usually coat hooks in the mud room.
I agree with you, a heavy wet coat would delay the time it takes for the warm air to have an effect,
it is after all what a coat does (slow down heat transfer).

Thanks, Longview! I assume a "mud room" is like a foyer? Maybe where you wipe your feet of mud when you first come into the house? (My ignorance is showing again.)

 

[Gaius46]

Definitely off. The cost is colder than room temp as is the air under it.

And depending on the company and what you’re wearing it might warm them up too.

 

[JasperL]

I was thinking about it in relation to my hands and gloves. Should be the same for a coat.

Anyway, when my hands are freezing after being outside for a while, and I come inside a warm car or house, I don't ever come inside and leave the gloves on - I take them off, immediately. Of course I might also put them over a vent that's emitting warm air, but again with the gloves off. So although I've never thought about it, makes sense to take the coat off as well, so long as the room/car is warm enough for whatever layers you have on under the coat.

 

[Emily L]

And depending on the company and what you’re wearing it might warm them up too.

You know, Gaius, there's an old comedy movie where a woman is secretly nude under her coat (for some reason), and people keep asking her to remove it. It's a funny scene, but I can't remember which movie it was.

 

[longview]

Thanks, Longview! I assume a "mud room" is like a foyer? Maybe where you wipe your feet of mud when you first come into the house? (My ignorance is showing again.)

No problem, Yes it is usually a back entrance, with floors that are not harmed by mud and water, where people remove their snow boots,
and usually take off their overcoats. I am in Texas, but my daughter spent 7 years in Alberta.

 

[Chomsky]

What is the temperature of the inner surface of the jacket (T1) versus the ambient air temperature inside the house (T2)?

If T1 >= T2, keep the jacket on

If T2 > T1, take it off immediately

True.

But T2 = Room Temp = 72*

while,

Body Temp (T3?) = 98.6.

So we have to figure-in the thermal capacity of the jacket vs free air. The jacket will warm-up, the free air will not. So, once the jacket inner surface rises above room temp it will assist in raising her skin temperature, while the free air will actually cool her!

Now from experience, this former four-season paper-boy found taking off a thoroughly chilled jacket is the way to go for immediate effect. But that applied to my having been out in below-freezing temps for in excess of an hour, sometimes as long as 3 or 4 hours!

However, the very best temp re-adjustment is . . . water! Rinse your thoroughly chilled hands under luke-warm (not hot!) water! Works like a charm! One time during a particularly frigid exposure I had, I was so thoroughly chilled that I soaked myself in a bath tub! Again, it worked! In fact if you're ever stuck in a residential heat situation w/o aircon, and don't feel the need to or can't leave for a cooler place, there's always a bathtub of cool water to soak in!

 

[Emily L]

I was thinking about it in relation to my hands and gloves. Should be the same for a coat.

Anyway, when my hands are freezing after being outside for a while, and I come inside a warm car or house, I don't ever come inside and leave the gloves on - I take them off, immediately. Of course I might also put them over a vent that's emitting warm air, but again with the gloves off. So although I've never thought about it, makes sense to take the coat off as well, so long as the room/car is warm enough for whatever layers you have on under the coat.

Thanks, Jasper--that's what I think, too, although some of my friends just don't see it that way.

 

[JasperL]

Thanks, Longview! I assume a "mud room" is like a foyer? Maybe where you wipe your feet of mud when you first come into the house? (My ignorance is showing again.)

Yeah, usually at the back door or similar - not the main front entrance, at least in our part of the world. And you'd remove coats, and muddy or snow filled boots there.

 

[Emily L]

True.

But T2 = Room Temp = 72*

while,

Body Temp (T3?) = 98.6.

So we have to figure-in the thermal capacity of the jacket vs free air. The jacket will warm-up, the free air will not. So, once the jacket inner surface rises above room temp it will assist in raising her skin temperature, while the free air will actually cool her!

Now from experience, this former four-season paper-boy found taking off a thoroughly chilled jacket is the way to go for immediate effect. But that applied to my having been out in below-freezing temps for in excess of an hour, sometimes as long as 3 or 4 hours!

However, the very best temp re-adjustment is . . . water! Rinse your thoroughly chilled hands under luke-warm (not hot!) water! Works like a charm! One time during a particularly frigid exposure I had, I was so thoroughly chilled that I soaked myself in a bath tub! Again, it worked! In fact if you're ever stuck in a residential heat situation w/o aircon, and don't feel the need to or can't leave for a cooler place, there's always a bathtub of cool water to soak in!

That's very enlightening, Chomsky! Wisdom from a paper boy (a lot of famous people started out doing that). Somebody used to say that, if your hands and feet are warm, then you'll hardly feel the cold, at all. I've never tried that out, but after reading what you said about warming your hands, I'm inclined to believe it.

 

[Emily L]

Yeah, usually at the back door or similar - not the main front entrance, at least in our part of the world. And you'd remove coats, and muddy or snow filled boots there.

Thanks, Jasper!

 

[Emily L]

Poll Update: "Take It Off" is now in the lead!

 

[phoenix2020]

True.

But T2 = Room Temp = 72*

while,

Body Temp (T3?) = 98.6.

So we have to figure-in the thermal capacity of the jacket vs free air. The jacket will warm-up, the free air will not. So, once the jacket inner surface rises above room temp it will assist in raising her skin temperature, while the free air will actually cool her!

Now from experience, this former four-season paper-boy found taking off a thoroughly chilled jacket is the way to go for immediate effect. But that applied to my having been out in below-freezing temps for in excess of an hour, sometimes as long as 3 or 4 hours!

However, the very best temp re-adjustment is . . . water! Rinse your thoroughly chilled hands under luke-warm (not hot!) water! Works like a charm! One time during a particularly frigid exposure I had, I was so thoroughly chilled that I soaked myself in a bath tub! Again, it worked! In fact if you're ever stuck in a residential heat situation w/o aircon, and don't feel the need to or can't leave for a cooler place, there's always a bathtub of cool water to soak in!

That is true, I wasn't sure whether to suggest modeling up the thermal capacitance of the jacket. The problem there is that several other factors need to be characterized:

• The thermal connection between the jacket, the individual's clothing and their skin all of which will have [likely] very different Rths
• The degree to which the jacket actually was cold-soaked e.g. delta T between inner and outer surface, and what the thermal gradient looks like
• Definition of what the "warm room" actually means from a thermal point of view e.g. are there radiative heat sources in the vicinity or are we talking warm, still air or are we talking warm air and decent convection

The actual right answer would require a model inclusive of the above. Assuming the jacket is reasonably insulative and has a somewhat low thermal mass (befitting modern fabrics and design) then jacket inner surface vs. ambient air is a reasonable simplification. If the jacket is an older-school, thick cotton or leather get-up e.g. it has a lot of thermal mass then the answer will depend a great deal on the above factors.

 

[Chomsky]

That is true, I wasn't sure whether to suggest modeling up the thermal capacitance of the jacket. The problem there is that several other factors need to be characterized:

• The thermal connection between the jacket, the individual's clothing and their skin all of which will have [likely] very different Rths
• The degree to which the jacket actually was cold-soaked e.g. delta T between inner and outer surface, and what the thermal gradient looks like
• Definition of what the "warm room" actually means from a thermal point of view e.g. are there radiative heat sources in the vicinity or are we talking warm, still air or are we talking warm air and decent convection

The actual right answer would require a model inclusive of the above. Assuming the jacket is reasonably insulative and has a somewhat low thermal mass (befitting modern fabrics and design) then jacket inner surface vs. ambient air is a reasonable simplification. If the jacket is an older-school, thick cotton or leather get-up e.g. it has a lot of thermal mass then the answer will depend a great deal on the above factors.

Given the interest in this thread, we probably should do an app!

 

[BirdinHand]

The point of a coat is to insulate your body from outside temperatures, correct? Maintain your body heat inside the coat, without allowing the external temp to lower your body temp…

So, if you are inside…you’d want to remove the coat to allow the inside temperature to reach your body…not insulate your body FROM the inside temperature.

 

[Chomsky]

That's very enlightening, Chomsky! Wisdom from a paper boy (a lot of famous people started out doing that). Somebody used to say that, if your hands and feet are warm, then you'll hardly feel the cold, at all. I've never tried that out, but after reading what you said about warming your hands, I'm inclined to believe it.

The best part of being a paper-boy was having the freedom to buy all the things my parents would never allow me to have!

 

[Ginger Ale]

I wouldn't know because it's never cold enough where I live to wear a jacket for more than show. lol
But, in most movies I watch about the winter they take it off, as it's usually a bit moist and cold.
Like someone else said, have a cozy throw blanket on a chair already warmed by the house to exchange the coat with. That's what I would do if in that situation.

But I do hear from the "Go Brandons" that being cold as fk keeps you from catching Covid. lol So, maybe no coat at all depending on who you vote for.

 

[phoenix2020]

The point of a coat is to insulate your body from outside temperatures, correct? Maintain your body heat inside the coat, without allowing the external temp to lower your body temp…

So, if you are inside…you’d want to remove the coat to allow the inside temperature to reach your body…not insulate your body FROM the inside temperature.

It depends entirely on the jacket.

Some coats are designed to be very thermally resistive - these do act as a thermal barrier between you and the outside. Think a lightweight down jacket that's mostly air - and air is a poor conductor of heat.

Other coats are designed to have a substantial thermal mass between you and the outside, so the jacket cools down first--but eventually it will cool down. These are the heavy cotton, wool, leather jackets.

Still other coats are designed to reflect radiative emissions from your body - think a technical jacket for mountaineering with a foil liner.

All these jackets will behave very differently in this scenario.