The Morning Bean Juice Special
Image 1: A person enjoying a nice morning brew
Some people like the morning more than others. Some jump straight out of bed, while others take a while to get going. Nonetheless, there’s a special beverage which helps everyone get through the morning at least: coffee.
If you live in a modern city, chances are that you’ll either see different coffee shops around you or grocery stores with sections purely dedicated to coffee. It’s become a cultural norm in many parts of the world because of how its caffeine wakes us up and how it tastes so good when it’s warm. But, how does it stay warm? Why can’t it stay nice and warm forever?
Image 2: A nice hot cup of coffee being poured on top of delectable coffee beans
This is because of a few things at play, mainly heat transfer, psychometrics and thermodynamics. Don’t worry, I won’t bore you with the nitty gritty details—you can find more on heat transfer in the “Keeping Out the Wrong Kind of Energy” section in Unifunful’s How Homes Help Us Beat the Heat—but let’s just see how they play a role in your coffee getting cold.
Image 3: A person enjoying a nice cup of coffee
Heat transfer is basically seeing where the heat comes from and where it goes. Psychrometrics is just seeing how the heat from your coffee interacts with the moisture and temperature in your office or your car. Thermodynamics—a scary topic for many—is basically seeing where the heat energy in your coffee goes and when your coffee will be room temperature. When you use these things together, it becomes a little clearer to see why coffee doesn’t always stay nice and warm.
Now, coffee will get cold if you leave it out no matter where you’re at, but where you’re at does play a role in how quickly it’ll get cold. A room that’s a little less humid and a bit cooler might be able to cool the coffee more quickly, while the same cup of coffee might stay warm a little longer in a room that’s a bit more humid and a bit warmer.
Image 4: Coworkers sharing a moment together with coffee
So, what’s the bottom line here? Enjoy your morning bean juice, but don’t let it sit for too long now!
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