drying dishes
rallain | June 7, 2010As part of the Ask a ScienceBlogger series, reader Jim Swanson asks:
When I open the dishwasher after washing and the contents are still hot, why do the glass and ceramic items dry off more quickly than the plastic items?
This is a great question. Great because it is something most everyone can relate to and great because there is some good science. Really, this shows the difference between temperature and thermal energy. I think the common idea is that temperature is a measure of the energy something has - but this isn't quite true.
Ok, let me first start with a sample case. Suppose you…