There's No Such Thing As Cold

If cold isn't real, then how can I feel it?
↓ More info and sources below ↓

You've felt cold before. Sometimes it's cold outside. But what if I told you that "cold" isn't real? There's no substance or quantity called "cold" in science. We can't measure the amount of "cold" in something. Instead it's about what's NOT there. In this week's video, learn the difference between heat and temperature, why a wind makes us feel colder, and what it's like to live as a mass of jiggling atoms. This is the physics of cold

Have an idea for an episode or an amazing science question you want answered? Leave a comment below!

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It's Okay To Be Smart is written and hosted by Joe Hanson, Ph.DFollow me on Twitter: @jtotheizzoe
Email me: itsokaytobesmart AT gmail DOT com
Produced for PBS Digital Studios

Joe Hanson - Creator/Host/Writer
Joe Nicolosi - Director
Amanda Fox - Producer, Spotzen IncKate Eads - Associate Producer
Andrew Matthews - Editing/Motion Graphics
Katie Graham - Director of Photography
John Knudsen - Gaffer
Dalton Allen - Post-Production Intern

Theme music:
"Ouroboros" by Kevin MacLeod

Other music via APM

Stock images from Shutterstock

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Last week's video:

More videos:

[alxjones]

There's also no such thing as dark, skinny, or silent. A lot of our words describe the absence of something that's usually there.

[HajoBenzin]

2:45 - you would not freeze instantly.
The vacuum in space is a nearly perfect isolator, so the warmth can not got anywhere.
It takes some time that your bodyheat will radiate away.

[chrisvelazquez]

I work in the hardwood flooring industry. We use a light cement to self level underneath the wood floor. I tried explaining this to my coworkers about how the heat is moving towards the absence of heat, and how there is no such thing as cold and how the cement dries. Everyone thought I was absolutely crazy and I felt like a genius compared to everyone even though they thought I was a fool.

[fosheimdet]

You should have asked which one has more thermal energy, not which one is "hotter".

[oafkad]

So why would we freeze almost instantly in the emptiest places in space? Where is the heat going if there is no dense matter for it to transfer into?

[wjdyr]

For people who don't get it: heat is something that exists, coldness is only a term to describe the lack of it.

[pigeondance]

him: it's -1 degrees Celsius
also him: I'm cold

*laughs in russian*

[rogantu]

For a video about science, it had a pretty huge error. In such space, you would NOT freeze/freeze to death instantly. At first your body fluids would likely go upwards towards your skin and you could flash sweat. This would cause you to feel a cold sensation, however there is nothing in that space that can take heat away from you. Without something to take your heat, you can't simply freeze. One would die though, but more from having fluids shot out, bloodvessels burst, not being able to breathe, etc.

[emwilloby]

As a person with glasses I chuckled to myself when he blew on the tea

[thetheatreguy]

I think this issue with this lies in the use of the word "heat." It's not heat, it is thermal energy, which is a neutral thing on its own. A large amount of thermal energy is perceived as "hot" and a small amount is perceived as "cold." Hot and Cold both do exist, just only as products of our mind. They are based on opinion.

[somekindofnice]

I hate when people throw around, "there's no such thing as cold, only the absence of heat!" like bitch, the absence of heat is the definition of cold. it's like saying there's no such thing as dark, just the absence of light.

[Rizz]

So if cold is the absence of heat then is hate the absence of love???

[MichaelFlatman]

3:47 as someone who is british and has glasses i know that struggle.

[actoutgames]

Crazy.  We had this exact conversation as one of our car talks the other day.  Awesome video of course.

[sarcastichearts]

as soon as he said "that's cool", i literally went "oh fuck off joe"
damn the puns

[shajuanjohnson]

This video fucked up everything I ever knew.

[DanielVanDyck]

Wow you explained SO many concepts SO well in such a SHORT video. Maybe it's because I already studied these topics, but I feel that even if I didn't, that was such a well explained overview of SOOOO many things!! Keep up the good work!

[adarshmullakara]

You seem really proud of that pun at 3:05.

[Othmarius]

"The universe is on a long slow mission to even everything out!" lol. I love that! So funny!

[x.kyss]

*"It's Okay To Be Smart"*

For me: *It's Amazing to be Smart even though you keep screwing up on the test"*