• NeatNit@discuss.tchncs.de
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    8 days ago

    Yeah, I think wind is an enormous factor for this. If the toaster’s heat is allowed to accumulate over time (i.e. low air movement), it would win no matter how cold the environment is, as long as it can start in the first place (I have no idea if it might fail for some reason).

    The rising hot air would create convection, but I am too lazy to look up the numbers for that to see how significant it would be. My lazy and uninformed guess is that it would be significant and slow things down, but not enough to stop the toaster from toasting.

    Another thing to consider is that a lot of the energy heating the toast is actually infrared light radiating from the coils. This radiation wouldn’t be affected at all by the colder environment. But as soon as it turns to heat in the toast, it’s just as susceptible to the air currents stealing away the heat.

    • theneverfox@pawb.social
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      6 days ago

      Another thing to consider is that a lot of the energy heating the toast is actually infrared light radiating from the coils. This radiation wouldn’t be affected at all by the colder environment. But as soon as it turns to heat in the toast, it’s just as susceptible to the air currents stealing away the heat.

      You’ve stumbled upon the real question… Would the toast taste better or worse if you toast at a lower temp?