2006-07-04 02:37:01 · 12 answers · asked by l6l 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
"Cold" is a matte of opinion, a very subjective term which in no way has any precise, scientific meaning.
Someone might call an ice cube in a freezer "cold", what about an ice cube on Pluto...that is cold too...but how do you differentiate? (the use of the word "very", I don't think so)
What some people would consider "cold", others might find "mild", or even "pleasant", but none of these words give any indication of the object's temperature.
2006-07-04 03:07:01 · answer #1 · answered by mrjeffy321 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Cold is a word - an adjective. It describes a condition or feeling - the absence of heat. It is not the condition or feeling itself. It is measurable by what we term "degrees" - a word that measures the quantity of heat present according to a scale, eg. Fahrenheit or Celsius. We assign that condition a number called "temperature". Cold is a relative condition since "how cold" you feel is based on the temperature which, in effect, measures thepresence of heat. Cold exists as a concept: the absence of heat.
2006-07-04 12:04:43 · answer #2 · answered by Mark G 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Cold is caused by reduced activity of atoms. If you slow atoms to no movement then you would get absolute zero. However, this is impossible to achieve because of background radiation caused by the big bang which is ever-present in our universe. If you stopped the atoms you'd also create the 5th phase of matter called Bose-Einstein condensation.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absolute_Zero
2006-07-04 09:50:38 · answer #3 · answered by Keith 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ever gone swimming in Lake Tahoe? Cold is a reality!
2006-07-04 10:29:46 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I agree with the first respondent that it doesn't exist, because it is simply the absence of heat.
Another respondent contends that it does exist because it can be measured. If so, how? When we measure heat, we measure temperature, which results from the presence of heat, NOT the absence of cold.
Also, we always refer to the latent HEATs of vaporization and fusion, not their latent COLDs.
2006-07-04 10:28:45 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes. Cold is the absence of heat energy. If it can be measured or detected it exists.
2006-07-04 09:44:52 · answer #6 · answered by the_way_of_the_turtle 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
cold and hot are terms used to describe the state of objects relative to other objects... there is no absolute cold in physical world.
But the look in your estranged friend's eyes .. is a different story
2006-07-04 09:45:00 · answer #7 · answered by unalla 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Cold is a description, it doesn't exist physically.
2006-07-04 09:43:45 · answer #8 · answered by Science_Guy 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
cold is an exprssion as i am cold but there isnt in the physical world
2006-07-04 10:50:14 · answer #9 · answered by PHANTOM 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Mainly in winter
2006-07-04 09:41:37 · answer #10 · answered by IT 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋