The Process of Temperature Equalization Between a Body and the Environment: Laboratory Experiments and Diurnal Cooling of the Ocean and Atmospheric Surface Layer

This paper examines the process of temperature equalization between a body and its environment from a molecular-kinetic perspective. A discrete model of kinetic energy exchange is proposed, in which the molecules of the body and environment are represented as elastic particles with different characteristic velocities (frequencies) of thermal motion. The model takes into account the influence of the initial energy state of the system on the relaxation rate and allows for the description of the unevenness of the cooling process at different initial temperatures. Laboratory experiments on the cooling of solids and liquids in air at a constant temperature were conducted, as well as experiments with and without evaporation. A qualitative agreement between the temperature dynamics obtained in the experiments and the changes in kinetic energy in the numerical model is demonstrated. Additionally, an analysis of diurnal ocean and atmospheric surface cooling was performed using archival meteorological data. It was found that under low temperature conditions, the rate of water cooling decreases significantly compared to warm periods, despite an increase in the temperature gradient. This effect is interpreted as a manifestation of differences in the internal kinetics of the media and their thermal inertia. These results indicate the limitations of linear heat transfer models under low-energy conditions and may be useful in modeling heat transfer processes in natural and technical systems.