DrQuint@lemm.ee 1 year ago
The internal temperature is whatever you said. That’s the temperature your guts need to live.
You have a gigantic organ providing insolation between that and the world. It’s called skin.
I was in the carribean recently and OMG with that humidity an 85 degree day was the worst heat I can recall. I live somewhere that it reaches 100 in the summers. But it’s dry here. And that makes so much difference.
It really made me wonder about my dog, who cannot sweat. Is he dying on an 85 degree day?
I’ve often wondered about our furred friends. Don’t dogs and cats have an internal temp around 101°F (39°C)? That is what searching tells me. I’d think it’s a function of the fur but I’m not sure how it works per cooling.
Google says you’re right. I guess that would make them a little more heat tolerant than we are. I knew they were a few degrees off and that reduces the number of viruses we can share, because most of them are tuned to very specific host body conditions.
maporita@unilem.org 1 year ago
Another reason a fan works is because it increases evaporation of sweat. Evaporation involves a phase change which requires energy. That energy is extracted from the body surface. Without air flow the envelope of air next to the skin gets saturated meaning it can’t hold any more water vapor, so evaporation stops.