• Question: In the whole world which material do you think keeps heat in the longest ?

    Asked by anon-349518 on 9 Feb 2023.
    • Photo: Jenny Roberts

      Jenny Roberts answered on 9 Feb 2023:

      I’m not an expert, but something like polystyrene is probably one of the best. Also, if it has a reflective surface on it (like a mirror) then it will be even more insulating.

    • Photo: Ollie Thomas

      Ollie Thomas answered on 9 Feb 2023:

      Weirdly, the thing that is best at keeping heat in is….. nothing. Heat gets passed along by the tiny little bits which make up materials (molecules) bumping into each other and passing along the heat (a bit like a Mexican wave). If the molecules can’t bump into each other, they can’t pass on the heat. This is why good insulators like polystyrene or wholly coats have lots of air in them, as the air means the molecules are far apart, so they have trouble bumping into each other. The best insulator would be a vacuum (like in the flasks people use for keeping drinks warm) as there are no molecules in a vacuum, so the heat cant pass along.

Comments