why is the bottom of your pillow cold?

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I feel like it has to do with heat rising? I dunno. I don’t even know if this is a physics question. I majored in art and didn’t take many science courses..

In: Physics

2 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Heat transfer is the answer.

When you feel cold it is because your surroundings are drawing heat from your body and the opposite is the case for when you feel hot (although there are exceptions to the second one)

So what happens when you lie down initially the pillow is room temperature and because you are warmer than it, it absorbs your heat. Over time you may become uncomfortable with the pillow as it warms up to your temperature so you flip it.

The other side of the pillow hasn’t had the opportunity to warm up to your body temperature since it hasn’t made contact with your head and so relative to your face it feels cool.

Anonymous 0 Comments

It isn’t cold – just normal temperature. The top is warm because it’s next to your head. The reason it feels colder than the air is because air can’t absorb heat as quickly as fabric.