Thursday, 12 July 2018

Heatwave 2: car thermometers

The temperature shown above is quite low but we've been noticing some interesting readings whilst out and about. The main car park in Wigton recorded particularly high temperatures. Concrete has a high specific heat capacity so once it has absorbed thermal energy, it remains hot for a long time, warming the air above it. This was coupled with a metre high wall behind the car park which stopped the breeze shifting the warm air. I have read that the thermometers are placed in different places in different cars. Some are low down in front of the radiator. They can even be in with the wing mirrors. From what I've seen, I would suspect the former for our car.