Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 17, 2026

Using a Thermal Camera to Measure Heat Loss Through Bird Feather Coats
Published on: June 17, 2020
Material identification using real and simulated thermal cues
Abstract:
The objective of this study was to develop a thermal display for simulating the thermal cues associated with making contact with materials with different thermal properties. The thermal display was designed based on a semiinfinite body model. The performance of subjects using this display was compared to that with real materials in a material identification experiment. The results indicated that there was no significant difference in material identification when subjects were presented with real or simulated materials. The decreases in skin temperature were also comparable in the two experiments and were related to the contact coefficient of the material palpated, which is consistent with the semiinfinite body model. These findings suggest that thermal feedback in a haptic display can facilitate object recognition when visual cues are limited.
Related Concept Videos
Thermal Sigmatropic Reactions: Overview
Sigmatropic shifts are classified based on an order term [i, j ], where i and j indicate the number of atoms across which each end of the σ bond migrates. Below are examples of a [3,3] sigmatropic shift in 1,5-hexadiene, referred to as...
Thermal Stress
Thermosensation
Thermal Strain
Mechanism of heat transfer
Thermal expansion and Thermal stress: Problem Solving
To solve the problem, first, identify the known and unknown quantities. The initial length (L) of the bridge is 1275 m, the coefficient of linear expansion (α) for steel is 12 x 10-6/°C, and the change in temperature (ΔT) is 55 °C.

