A River That Can Cook Your Dinner
Swimming in a river is a great way to cool off on a hot day. Rivers and lakes feel chilly to us because they’re usually cooler than the air above them, which means they’re probably cooler than our own body temperature of 37 degrees celsius.
When you take a bath or shower, water that feels nice and warm is actually around 40 - 45 degrees — check it out with a thermometer! In any case, rivers and lakes usually don’t feel warm. But as a young child in Peru, Andres Ruzo had heard about a river in the Amazon rainforest that was boiling hot, with steam rising off it. As a grown-up scientist, he decided to find that river.
He and his aunt walked 4 hours deep into the forest until they found it. It’s 25 metres wide, and thanks to “geothermal” heating (heat from underground), the water temperature measured a steamy 87 degrees celsius for a 5km stretch – “hot enough to cook a chicken.” Sounds like we won’t be swimming in that river! But it’s beautiful to see.
When you take a bath or shower, water that feels nice and warm is actually around 40 - 45 degrees — check it out with a thermometer! In any case, rivers and lakes usually don’t feel warm. But as a young child in Peru, Andres Ruzo had heard about a river in the Amazon rainforest that was boiling hot, with steam rising off it. As a grown-up scientist, he decided to find that river.
He and his aunt walked 4 hours deep into the forest until they found it. It’s 25 metres wide, and thanks to “geothermal” heating (heat from underground), the water temperature measured a steamy 87 degrees celsius for a 5km stretch – “hot enough to cook a chicken.” Sounds like we won’t be swimming in that river! But it’s beautiful to see.
Questions
Wee ones: What is hotter? A river that is 101 degrees or a kettle that is 98 degrees?
Little kids: If in the summer you swim in a (much cooler!) river every 3rd day starting on a Monday, when’s your next river swim? Bonus: Andres found the river in 2010, but it took him 3 years to prove that the heat came from nature. When did he finally figure it out?
Big kids: If your body is 37 degrees and you like your bath at 52 degrees, how much warmer than you is your bathtub? Bonus: The river is just 13 degrees below the real boiling point of water! At what temperature does water boil?
Little kids: If in the summer you swim in a (much cooler!) river every 3rd day starting on a Monday, when’s your next river swim? Bonus: Andres found the river in 2010, but it took him 3 years to prove that the heat came from nature. When did he finally figure it out?
Big kids: If your body is 37 degrees and you like your bath at 52 degrees, how much warmer than you is your bathtub? Bonus: The river is just 13 degrees below the real boiling point of water! At what temperature does water boil?
Answers:
Wee ones: River
Little kids: Thursday, Bonus: 2013
Big kids: 15 degrees. Bonus: 100 degrees.
Little kids: Thursday, Bonus: 2013
Big kids: 15 degrees. Bonus: 100 degrees.