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In science this semester I have learned about air and insulation. Air is a very good insulator. An insulator is a material that is used to reduce the amount of heat transfer. Many insulators help prevent conduction, convection, and/or radiation. Air plays a big part in insulating things; we use insulation in many places, such as homes, clothes, snow gear, wet suits, etc. Air is a good insulator because the particles are far apart so heat cannot transfer through the particles as fast or as easy as it could in a metal.  The RSI value of air is 0.15, which is pretty good, because the higher the RSI value the better the insulator. 'R' is the resistance value or resistance to heat conduction , and the 'SI' means numbers used in the calculation are based on the metric system. If you are insulating something, and the air space is too large, the air will not insulate because convection currents are able to flow. Convection currents are the circulating paths of fluids caused by the application of heat, which means they travel through air spaces if they are large enough to create a current. All things with small air spaces or that hold air are good insulators, for example, pink insulation, winter gear, down, snow … I could go on, because air is a good insulator. Air has a very big part in insulation and the prevention of transfer of heat. |