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Re:M1 Air with Thermal Pad Mod by BugsJustFindMe on Monday February 15, 2021 @06:24PM (#26149016)
> whether to warm up or cool down, the more calories it’ll burn in doing so

To warm up yes, but to cool down? How would it make sense to generate more heat (burn calories) to cool down?

Re:M1 Air with Thermal Pad Mod by ComputerGuru on Monday February 15, 2021 @09:45PM (#26150359)
Our bodies are less efficient but no less incredible at lowering their temperature as they are at raising it. See for example the production and excretion of sweat takes energy, as does increased heart rate to improve circulation in an attempt to a) handle/average out local hot/cold spots, b) improve shedding of excess heat via radiation in the extremities, which is one of the reasons we have weird thin, fin-like protrusions sticking out of our heads on either side: pumping blood through these thin slabs with high surface area gives maximal chance to reduce the temperature of the blood as the air flows over them. Again the the same with the upper and lower extremities, which radiate heat at greater levels than the trunk. Also, increased, shallow breathing to attempt to cool down blood circulating in the high surface area exposed in the alveoli of the lungs (which is normally why exhaled breath is much warmer than the local air temperature). There are other mechanisms as well, I am by no means an expert but thermal homeostasis is of extreme importance and we’re quite good at it - and like any other physics process, heat exchange is a form of work that requires the expenditure of energy.