Science knows no country, because knowledge belongs to humanity, and is the torch that illuminates the world.

— Louis Pasteur, French chemist

Our body is an amazing creation. It is a machine that enables us to interact with the world around us. We have five senses: touch, taste, hearing, sight, and smell. Each of these senses allows us to understand the world in a different way and gives us a unique perspective on what we encounter each day. The following is a fun experiment that examines one of these senses; touch.

Investigation: What makes us feel hot and cold?

What you will need:
• 3 bowls of water: 1 warm, 1 cold, and 1 at room temperature.
 

Instructions:
1. Arrange the bowls of water in front of you from left to right as follows: warm, room temperature, cold.

2. Place your left hand in the bowl of warm water and your right hand in the bowl of cold water for 30 seconds.

3. Remove your hands from the water and place both into the middle bowl (room temperature).

What’s happening?
Hot and cold are just a way of comparing what we are used to with what we are feeling. Your left hand was used to warm water, so when you placed it into the bowl with water at room temperature, it felt quite cold. On the other side, your right hand was used to cold water, so when you placed it into room-temperature water, it felt warm. Both hands were in the same water, but since they were used to different temperatures, one felt cold and the other felt warm.

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