mantra wrote on Jul 1
st, 2009 at 3:46pm:
1 litre of water would get warmer quicker than 4 litres in a warm room - this is why I am having difficulty figuring out the reverse. Wouldn't the increased volume of water make a difference to the coolness of the water?
I was given this little warm water fish - and he has two bowls. I've put him in the small one because it feels warmer, although he hates it and prefers the bigger bowl which is his Summer bowl. But as these fish are susceptible to water temperatures, I thought the smaller bowl wouldn't get as cold because I always assumed - the deeper the water the cooler it got.
But I'll take your word for it though Muso and thanks.
Mantra,
The difference between 4 litres and 1 litres in terms of cooling is minimal.
Generally, the larger the body of water, the greater the total thermal inertia. For example, a swimming pool will tend to reach a temperature somewhere around the average temperature between maximum and minimum.
There are three main factors that will determine the water temperature
1. The rate of heat dissipation between the water and the ambient air,
2. The relative humidity of the ambient air.
3. The presence or absence of air currents.
With a lower RH, you tend to get higher evaporation rates, which tends to cool the water slightly (but not significantly) . Think of dry and wet bulb temperatures.
The RH that is important is that of the vapour space above the water surface. This will tend towards equilibrium if there are fewer air currents.