Keeping Warm in Winter

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Insulation

With cold weather coming on, it would be fun to do some experiments on how to keep warm. There is a lot of confusion about this topic. Here are a few questions to investigate. Try to come up with some more of your own.

Do all materials which trap air inside them have the same ability to keep things warm?

Does the thickness of the insulation change how well it insulates?

Does insulation added to something which is already cold help warm it up?

Why do we use only certain materials as insulation in coats, why polyester fiberfill and not steel wool for example?

Do mittens keep hands warmer than gloves? Why?

Why is it harder to keep warm on a windy day than on a still day?

What is wind chill?

Try to create your own experiments for as many of these questions as possible. Try to keep as many variables the same as you can. For example, use identical containers of water warmed to the same temperature and covered with different insulating materials which are all the same thickness. Once you have some experimental results, do some library and Internet research.