4 ms·
Sand is a terrible thermal conductor. It's one of the worst materials you can use if you're building a heat bank for a masonry stove or mass heater. The problem
by zdragnar 3y ago
Sand is a terrible thermal conductor. It's one of the worst materials you can use if you're building a heat bank for a masonry stove or mass heater. The problem is that the air in between the grains of sand acts as insulation, so there is very very bad thermal transfer between what is on the surface and what is below.
That, coupled with the lack of moisture, is why deserts can be extremely hot during the day and freezing at night.
- koolba 3y agoSo a bunch of copper rods drilled into the soil for a reverse heat pump?
- zdragnar 3y agoDon't forget that the heat will transfer both ways. Heat pumps require some form of mechanical energy to move the heat (usually via some fluid) that you can shut off when the sun is down if you don't want that heat radiated back to the atmosphere. Much better to just put up a bunch of mirrors so the light never gets absorbed as thermal energy into the earth in the first place.
- h0l0cube 3y agoGood point. Water is the crucial factor here in afforestation as a greenhouse gas, though eventually the moisture will evaporate and form clouds which they reverse their effect, and a tree trunk can hold carbon for a very long time. So I'm not sold that tree planting has as negligible effect as the original poster claims.
- mcv 3y agoAlso why walking on top of sand can burn your feet, file digging your feet in to just below that top layer is suddenly very cool.