Cooling responses of finger in contact with an aluminum surface

Skin temperature (T sk) changes and subjective sensations of bare fingers touching a cold aluminum surface were determined in 25 subjects (12 female and 13 male). An 11-cm aluminum cube was placed in a mini-chamber, where chamber air and an aluminum cube were simultaneously cooled to -14, -5, and -1 degrees C, respectively. Subjects inserted their right hands into the chamber and pressed on the cube surface with three fingers with a force of 9.81 N (1 Kp). Exposure lasted until finger-skin temperature reached 0 degree C or was voluntarily ended by the subject. Regression equations with two exponential components were used to describe the relationship between T sk and exposure time. The short time constant (< 1 second) for the first part of the cooling curve is assumed to represent primarily thermocouple dynamics. The long time constant (> 20 seconds) for the second part of the cooling curve is interpreted as representing the rate of heat transfer from the tissues of the finger itself. Gender and cube-surface temperature had no significant effect on any of the time constants. Thermal sensation and pain sensation lacked a good correlation with the contact and T sk and T sk change.