Creamward: Newton's Law of Cooling
Thermodynamics & Statistical Physics arc, page 56 of 193. Back to The Pixelated Physics Universe
Who they are
Creamward has one line, and says it often: “Add the milk first. newton agrees.”
Creamward is a character of the Thermodynamics & Statistical Physics arc: drawn in pixels, ruled by one piece of real physics, and never allowed to break it.
The physics
Newton's law of cooling: loss rate ∝ (T − Tenv). With fridge-cold milk, adding it first lets the cold deficit relax toward room temperature too, so milk-first is hotter at drinking time; nonlinear radiative and evaporative losses (largest when hottest) push the same way.
$$ \begin{gathered} \frac{dT}{dt} = -k\,(T - T_{\text{env}}) \end{gathered} $$
| Symbol | Meaning | SI unit |
|---|---|---|
| $T$ | coffee temperature | K |
| $T_{env}$ | room temperature | K |
| $k$ | cooling constant | s^{-1} |
| $t$ | time | s |
Sources
Crossovers
Creamward meets Tepidora (Zeroth Law of Thermodynamics). Tepidora knows any mug ends at room temperature. Creamward races her there with Newton's law of cooling: the loss rate is proportional to the temperature difference, so the mug cools fast at first and slowly at the end.
Creamward meets Voidcask (Vacuum Flask Insulation). Creamward's coffee loses heat by conduction, convection, evaporation and radiation. Voidcask removes the first two with a vacuum gap and cuts radiation with silvering, which slows Newton's cooling a great deal.
Wear the lore
Concept keywords: Newton's Law of Cooling, Creamward, Thermodynamics & Statistical Physics, physics lore, Pixelated Physics