Why Does a Cake Tin Burn You Faster Than Air in a Hot Oven?

AI Thread Summary
A cake tin burns faster than air in a hot oven due to its lower specific heat capacity, which allows it to transfer heat more rapidly to the skin. Unlike air, which requires time to heat up before it can cause a burn, the tin conducts heat directly and efficiently. This means that less energy is needed for the tin to reach a temperature that can cause a burn. Additionally, the conductivity of the material plays a significant role in how quickly heat is transferred. Therefore, touching the cake tin results in an immediate burn compared to holding your hand in hot air.
danago
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Hey. Here is the question i was given:

"When you hold your hand in the air in a hot oven, it takes a while before it starts to burn, but if you touch a cake tin in the oven, it burns almost instantly. Why?"

It has to do with the lower specific heat capacity of the tin, which apparently results in the cake tin transferring heat at a much faster rate. My question is...why does a substance with a lower specific heat capacity transfer heat faster?

Thanks.
Dan.
 
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danago said:
Hey. Here is the question i was given:

"When you hold your hand in the air in a hot oven, it takes a while before it starts to burn, but if you touch a cake tin in the oven, it burns almost instantly. Why?"

It has to do with the lower specific heat capacity of the tin, which apparently results in the cake tin transferring heat at a much faster rate. My question is...why does a substance with a lower specific heat capacity transfer heat faster?

Thanks.
Dan.
Well this is because the cake tin is able to transfer heat faster to ur skin than the air because the air has a greater heat capaity than that of the tin. This therefore means that the tin requires less energy to rasie 1 degree than the air becasue it is a better conductor of heat.
 
I didnt really get any of that lol.

I know that the tin needs to transfer less energy than the air to reach a state of thermal equilibrium, since its SHC will be much lower. But for the burn to occur, it transfers this energy quite fast. Why does it do it so fast? faster than the air...
 
Shc? 1234567890
 
huh lol? SHC=specific heat capacity
 
danago said:
Hey. Here is the question i was given:

"When you hold your hand in the air in a hot oven, it takes a while before it starts to burn, but if you touch a cake tin in the oven, it burns almost instantly. Why?"

It has to do with the lower specific heat capacity of the tin, which apparently results in the cake tin transferring heat at a much faster rate. My question is...why does a substance with a lower specific heat capacity transfer heat faster?

Thanks.
Dan.

The heat source will have to heat up the air before you could feel the temperature, or get burned by it.

While when you simply touch the cake tin, heat directly transfers to yr finger, that's why you get burnt instantaneously
 
Think heat conductivity in addition to heat capacity.
 
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