Why does hot air travel quicker than cold air? Thanks -x-
2006-12-14 02:49:38 · 17 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
Hot air is lighter. Also the molecules posses more kinetic and thermal energy.
Since air can be treated as a fluid,
viscosity of hot air is small compared to cold air.
Thats why hot air travels faster than cold air.
2006-12-14 02:53:48 · answer #1 · answered by Som™ 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
IT DOESN'T
Things move because they are pushed or pulled, and the speed they move at relates to the amount of force provided by the push or the pull.
Hot air can be absolutely static. Cold air can travel extremely fast.
(You may be thinking of the rotational speed of hurricanes, which increases when they travel over warm water. This is because they are converting heat energy from the water that is sucked up, into kinetic energy INSTEAD of letting it warm up the air in the system (conservation - it can't do both).
2006-12-14 06:42:37 · answer #2 · answered by Fitology 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hot air travels faster than cold air because cold air is frozen hence extremely heavy. Cold air only travels faster if it is in a snowball. The reason I know this is because I am really santa clause.
2006-12-14 03:05:15 · answer #3 · answered by Davy K 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
At a basic level, as the molecules in the air are heated up they vibrate at a greater speed, causing more movement. The cold air "moves" at a slower place. This is also why heat rises - the faster vibrations cause the molecules to push apart, making them less dense and therefore they "travel" easier.
Xx~xX
2006-12-14 02:54:07 · answer #4 · answered by ★♥ KillerBea ♥★ 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Does it?
Hot air is more viscous than cold, so if you're taking about a flow of gas through a pipe, hot air travels more slowly.
On the other hand, the speed of sound is higher in hot air; the molecules have more energy, so they move faster.
Maybe you should state your question more clearly?
2006-12-14 02:55:40 · answer #5 · answered by Mark H 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The speed of molecules is directly effected by temperature. The hotter the temperature the more excited the atoms become, therefore, causing them to move faster. The opposite occurs when you remove heat, molecules become less excited and begin to slow down. Once the temperature reaches absolute zero (0 K), then the molecules stop moving altogether.
2006-12-14 02:56:54 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
because the molecules (or atoms) are hotter therefore they move / vibrate more quickly causing the overall mass to move faster. in a similar way that ice melts when warmed making things pass through it easier the same principle is applied to air...therefore hot things move quicker than cold things! unless you are on a bobsleigh
2006-12-14 03:06:36 · answer #7 · answered by jtheb junior 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
because its a fluid so it's cause drag. when fluid flows its depends on pressure hot air has low pressure but cold air has bigger pressure pressure varies on temperature that's why hot airs travel quicker than cold air
2006-12-14 03:47:45 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm not sure that it does.
A cold front "overtakes" a warm front to form an occluded front.
a cold front is the leading edge of a relatively cold air mass. It moves about twice as fast as the warm air it slides under.
2006-12-14 04:19:36 · answer #9 · answered by rosie recipe 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hot air has absorbed energy and has expanded, while cold air is denser with little or no energy.
2006-12-14 03:01:00 · answer #10 · answered by robert x 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋