How does the body lose heat?

As previously discussed, the body regulates temperature like a furnace. It is constantly producing heat and then dispersing it through various processes. Heat can be lost through the processes of conduction, convection, radiation, and evaporation. Conduction is the process of losing heat through physical contact with another object or body. For example, if you were to sit on a metal chair, the heat from your body would transfer to the cold metal chair. Convection is the process of losing heat through the movement of air or water molecules across the skin. The use of a fan to cool off the body is one example of convection. The amount of heat loss from convection is dependent upon the airflow or in aquatic exercise, the water flow over the skin. Radiation is a form of heat loss through infrared rays. This involves the transfer of heat from one object to another, with no physical contact involved. For example, the sun transfers heat to the earth through radiation. The last process of heat loss is evaporation. Evaporation is the process of losing heat through the conversion of water to gas (evaporation of sweat). The primary heat loss process for aqua enthusiasts is convection, however, in an outdoor pool on hot day evaporation will also play a primary role in heat loss.