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so what’s the science behind huddling
exactly how does it work well we have a
thermal-imaging camera trained on me to
help explain exactly what’s going on now
heat is a thermal energy that’s
constantly flowing around us and as it
flows it naturally moves from hotter
objects to colder objects to show you
what I mean I’m going to fill this
solitary mug in the snow with some hot
chocolate now you can see it’s horse
white or yellow in the center but very
quickly it’s losing that heat to the
colder air around us but if I fill all
of these mugs of chocolate huddled
together you should be able to see
something very different it’s happening
all of the mugs are losing their heat
much less quickly particularly the one
in the center and that’s because it’s
protected by the hot mugs around it but
also it’s gaining some heat from the
collective huddle that’s hotter than it
is therefore the heat is transferring to
that mug in the center in just a few
minutes you can clearly see the
difference can’t you this cup is now
completely cold having lost all its heat
to the elements while this one is nice
and cozy and warm in the center now in
the Antarctic one particular species is
using this huddling strategy in such a
beautiful complex way that scientists
are only just beginning to fully
understand us
emperor penguins are one of nature’s
great survivors
they can endure the extreme cold of an
Antarctic winter where temperatures can
plummet to minus 40 degrees Celsius
one by one the male emperor penguins
lock themselves together in a tightly
packed group to keep warm and shelter
from the intense winds
these Huddle’s can contain as many as
4,000 penguins
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and they are constantly moving those on
the outside push forwards to get closer
to the warmth in the center of the group
and away from the full force of the
Antarctic storms but the Penguins on the
inside of the huddle also move around to
stop themselves from getting to warn
recent studies have shown that
temperatures at the centre can reach an
incredible 37 degrees Celsius
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so the Penguins move away to avoid
overheating with others replacing them
