Heat Transfer in Elephant Ears: Convection and Radiation

AI Thread Summary
Elephant ears serve as a mechanism for heat dissipation, primarily through convection and radiation. While radiation is a significant method of heat transfer, convection also plays a crucial role due to the large surface area of the ears. The discussion highlights the importance of understanding how these heat transfer methods work together to regulate body temperature. The analogy of a car radiator is used to illustrate the principles of heat exchange, emphasizing that heat transfer occurs through both conduction and convection. Ultimately, both convection and radiation are essential for elephants to effectively eliminate excess body heat.
wakejosh
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Homework Statement





elephants have large ears because they need additional skin to balance the large amount of mass (to balance the heat eleminated from their skin with the heat generated by their body mass) by which methods of heat transfer do the ears eliminate excess body heat?



The Attempt at a Solution



radiation would be an obvious choice, but I am wondering if it would be more accurate to say Convection and Radiation . any thoughts?
 
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I'm thinking of different answers. Compare the *amount* of heat transferred by each of the 3 traditional energy transfer mechanisms...
 
Well the ears give the elephants skin a large surface area. Which form of heat exchange would that benefit most?
 
so, is convection only applicable in fluids? I don't see why it wouldn't be both.
 
alright reading them over I would probably say it is only by Radiation. is this correct?
 
Think about a radiator in a car as an anology. Why is it actually misnamed? How does the heat get from the engine to the metal of the radiator? What flows through the radiator, and why?
 
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