Difference Between Hot & Cold Insulated Beverage Containers

When the winter weather comes, people travel to different places with thermoses full of hot chocolate, coffee or tea to keep them warm. In the summer, the same thermoses have the ability to keep iced tea, iced coffee or water cold. There is no difference between the types of beverage containers keeping hot or cold drinks at certain temperatures, but rather it's the source of the heat that makes the difference.

Function

• A thermal insulation beverage container works by keeping whatever liquid is inside the container from becoming the same temperature as the outside air. An insulation barrier is formed to prevent the temperature of the air outside from transferring into the container and whatever beverage it is holding. An insulated beverage container works much the same way as clothes that keep the body warm or insulation that keeps cool air in a house during the summer months.

Significance

• People use thermal insulation containers wherever there is a drastic difference between the beverage and the outside temperature. This is true whether the drink is hot and the air is cold, or vice versa. Therefore, there is no difference between a container that keeps a hot drink hot or a cold drink cold. The same container can be used for both situations. The key is keeping the heat from transferring from one place to another, whether it be into or out of the container.

Features

• An insulated container works by preventing the transfer of heat energy from one object to another. It reduces the amount of conduction, convection or radiation effects, such as the way metal transfers heat to water when it's on a stove. A thermos would not be made of metal, which is considered a conductor, because it is made up of atoms that are packed closely together, making it dense and able to transfer heat more easily. A thermos made of less dense insulated material to prevent the transfer of heat enables it to keep a beverage at a specific temperature for a longer period of time, whether it is hot or cold.

Effects

• Heat is transferred from one object to another because there is a difference in temperature. This means that on a hot day, heat will go from the outside air into a container that is holding a cold liquid. This is apparent when a water bottle is left in a hot car all day and the water is eventually the same temperature as air inside the car. Likewise, on a cold day, a hot beverage will cool off until it is the same temperature as the surrounding air. An insulated beverage container does not distinguish between a hot or cold beverage. It just prevents it from becoming the same temperature as the air outside the container.

Science

• An insulated container restricts the transfer of heat from the inside-out and the outside-in based on the R-value of the material it is made of, which is the amount of heat energy per the area of the material per the difference in temperature. It works both ways, keeping hot drinks hot and cold drinks cold.