Posted by Arthur P. Bloom on Monday, August 18, 2003 at 11:54PM :
In Reply to: What causes a "heat sink" type of condition? posted by Chris Lube Lublin on Monday, August 18, 2003 at 2:25AM :
Forgive me if this answer also appears somewhere down below in the drivel department.
It's basic physics: An object whose temperature is higher than its surroundings will tend to cool off. OK, we knew that, right? (It's called "entropy", if anyone needs to know.)
The object will cool off FROM THE MIDDLE OUTWARD. So, an engine, when turned off, still has heat that needs to be dissipated to its surroundings. The center of the engine gives up heat to the next layer, and so on, which then gives up heat to the surface of the engine, which gets hotter for a few minutes, then cools. Since the temperature gauge is at the outside "edge" of the engine, it registers the higher temperature.
Next question?