If in cold weather you touch your tongue to a metal object, you can stick to it. But why is this happening? What to do in such situations? In fact, the answer to the first question is rather unusual and based on natural phenomena.
Why does tongue stick to metal?
All objects exchange heat with each other and with the environment. For example, if you put hot food on a cool plate, then the food will heat it, and the plate, in turn, will cool the food. As soon as the temperature of both objects becomes equal, heat transfer will cease.
The same thing happens when a person touches metal with his tongue. To all this, it is worth adding the fact that metal objects have high thermal conductivity: they are able to quickly conduct energy (heat) from heated parts of the object to cold.
At the moment the tongue touches the metal, it is warmer, and if it is frosty on the street, the temperature difference between them is quite large. The metal immediately begins to absorb heat from the human body, using the tongue as a conductor. But since the body is not able to heat a given organ at the same rate with which heat is removed, the tongue gradually cools. Because of this, the saliva on its surface gradually turns into ice. The frozen liquid sticks together tongue and metal, merging them together.
Interesting fact: if a person is in the cold, the body independently sends more blood into the tongue, artificially heating it and preventing the saliva from freezing.
In order for the tongue to freeze to the metal, it is required that the temperature of the latter be low enough to cool the surface of the human organ to a negative temperature and provoke freezing of saliva. Otherwise, there will be no sticking.
There is an assumption that if you touch the metal with an absolutely dry tongue, then a person can easily remove it without sticking. If there is no saliva on it, then there will be nothing to freeze, respectively, no “glue” will be formed. However, it is quite difficult to verify this in practice, since the human mouth automatically releases fluid, making the cavity moist.
What to do if the tongue sticks to the metal?
If a person or animal was not lucky enough to be in this situation, then there are several ways to free oneself.
The very first decision that can come to your head is to quickly pull your head to the side. But such a method is good if only a few seconds have passed since the tongue stuck. During this period, saliva has not yet managed to completely turn into ice, so there is a high probability that it will remain on the tongue when a jerk, and the human organ will practically not suffer. But if at least 30 seconds have passed from the moment of freezing, it is better not to make sudden movements, because there is a chance to damage the surface of the tongue.
The safest way is to pour hot water on the metal and tongue.This will melt the years, after which a person can easily put his head to the side. But most often there is no boiling water at hand, and there is no one to run after it. What to do in these situations?
First, you need to close your hands with the tongue and metal around. Then you should open your mouth and start breathing warm steam. The effect will be, as is the case with boiling water. From the warm air, saliva will gradually melt, and the tongue will separate from the metal.
Some advise rubbing your tongue with your fingers, but this is less effective, because at that moment cold air will come into contact with it and lower the surface temperature.
The metal has a high thermal conductivity, and when the tongue touches it, it immediately begins to take heat. The body is not able to heat the tongue with the same speed, with which heat leaves it, and as a result, it freezes. Because of this, saliva gradually freezes and turns into ice, which is in the form of a film between the tongue and the metal. It performs the function of glue, which makes the objects stick together.
