Well, this is obviously baked among physicists and engineers, but what I propose is that everyday language recognize that the temperatures associated with radiation, conduction and convection can differ greatly.

For examples: On a clear summer night the conduction and convection temperatures may be quite warm, but the radiation temperature of the sky could be well below freezing.

Or: the difference between a conventional sauna and an infrared sauna is that the convection temperature is much lower in an IR sauna.

Some of this is captured in the notions of windchill and humidex, but the implications of radiation (or 'radiant') temperature are not widely appreciated.
-- afinehowdoyoudo, Jan 20 2007

cosmic background refrigeration Cosmic_20Background_20Refrigeration
[afinehowdoyoudo, Jan 20 2007]

I see what you mean; I think there will be trouble with a typical English conversation about the weather.

"The air convections a bit chilly, today, but I suppose the thermal conductance of my shoes makes up for that."

"Yeah, nice"
-- Ling, Jan 21 2007


so basically you're talking about a potential temperature. For conduction, it's the temperature of the surrounding touching objects. For convection, it's the free stream temperature. For radiation, it's the average temperature within a line of sight, geometrically averaged on the fourth power. While I think that's a great idea for physicists and engineers, it doesn't serve the general public any useful purpose. You get a bun anyway.
-- kevinthenerd, Jun 10 2008



random, halfbakery