Science Course with Ryan Morse: Arctic air experiments – frozen t-shirt

(WFRV) – Wind chills are forecasted to be below zero here in Northeast Wisconsin for most of this week. Many are being warned about the potential for frostbite to occur. Frostbite is a severe reaction to the cold the can permanently damage a victim.

Do it yourself experiment

To illustrate just how quickly the cold air can set in you just need a t-shirt and water.

Steps:

1. Take a t-shirt and soak it in water 
2. Place the t-shirt outside with frigid temperatures in the area, the outside temperature this experiment was conducted in was -8 degrees with a wind chill of -28.  
3. After just 5 minutes, look at the result

Explanation

The t-shirt basically turned to cardboard in that short of period. It was strong enough to with stand being hit against the table without breaking in.

Frostbite could set in within just 25 minutes of exposed skin under the conditions this experiment was done in. Over the next few days, bundle up when heading out as much as you can.