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Simplified control circuit of human thermoregulation. [8]The core temperature of a human is regulated and stabilized primarily by the hypothalamus, a region of the brain linking the endocrine system to the nervous system, [9] and more specifically by the anterior hypothalamic nucleus and the adjacent preoptic area regions of the hypothalamus.
It produces heat because the conversion of the chemical energy of ATP into kinetic energy causes almost all of the energy to show up as heat. Shivering is the process by which the body temperature of hibernating mammals (such as some bats and ground squirrels) is raised as these animals emerge from hibernation.
Origins of heat and cold adaptations can be explained by climatic adaptation. [16] [17] Ambient air temperature affects how much energy investment the human body must make. The temperature that requires the least amount of energy investment is 21 °C (70 °F). [5] [disputed – discuss] The body controls its temperature through the hypothalamus.
Infrared radiation in the spectral distribution of a black body is usually considered a form of heat, since it has an equivalent temperature and is associated with an entropy change per unit of thermal energy. However, "heat" is a technical term in physics and thermodynamics and is often confused with thermal energy.
Sunlight is the incandescence of the "white hot" surface of the Sun. Electromagnetic radiation from the sun has a peak wavelength of about 550 nm, [1] and can be harvested to generate heat or electricity. Thermal radiation can be concentrated on a tiny spot via reflecting mirrors, which concentrating solar power takes advantage of.
Space probes, including the Mars Curiosity rover, generate electricity using a radioisotope thermoelectric generator whose heat source is a radioactive element. Waste heat recovery. Every human activity, transport and industrial process generates waste heat, being possible to harvest residual energy from cars, aircraft, ships, industries and ...
For example, fireflies produce light by this means and boats moving through water can disturb plankton which produce a glowing wake. Certain substances produce light when they are illuminated by more energetic radiation, a process known as fluorescence. Some substances emit light slowly after excitation by more energetic radiation.
Thermoregulation is the ability of an organism to keep its body temperature within certain boundaries, even when the surrounding temperature is very different. A thermoconforming organism, by contrast, simply adopts the surrounding temperature as its own body temperature, thus avoiding the need for internal thermoregulation.