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i need help with science!?

Please help me understand why do double glazing + cavity walls act as insulation and how is the effectiveness of insulation measured? in extra detail. because we are on this topic and i need to go into detail!

4 Answers

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  • Anonymous
    10 years ago
    Favorite Answer

    I am not going to do your homework for you because that will not help you to learn but I will point you in the right direction.

    Heat is a form of energy and it will move from where there is a lot of it to where there is less of it until there is a balance between high and low levels (or temperatures) and the energy (or heat) no longer needs to flow to create an equilibrium. This is described by the second law of thermodynamics and can also be described by the term entropy (look it up).

    Heat energy, for all practical purposes, can move in three ways, convection, conduction and radiation (look them up too). Anything that interrupts the flow of heat by any of these three methods can be termed thermal insulation. Double glazing will reduce heat transfer by conduction through glass by introducing a layer of air between two or more (triple glazing) layers of glass. Air is a poorer conductor of heat than glass. Cavity walls similarly provide a thermal break between layers of brick in the shell of a building. Introducing cavity wall insulation makes an even better barrier to heat transfer because, as well as preventing movement by conduction, inhibiting movement of air in the cavity also reduces heat loss by convection.

    You have not asked about this but, just for interest, placing reflective foil behind a radiator on an outside wall will reduce heat-loss by radiation.

  • ?
    Lv 4
    10 years ago

    It's basically because air is a very poor conductor of heat. Therefore if you trap a layer of static air between windows or walls then it impedes the conduction of heat from inside to out.

  • 10 years ago

    Ask you teacher or reasarch it

  • 10 years ago

    So do I

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