Q. _Why does a PIECE of WOOD (blazing at ONE end) NOT FEEL HOT at the OTHER end?_ A. _Wood is a bad conductor of heat_; and, therefore, heat does not traverse freely through it: hence, though one end of a stick be blazing-hot, the other end may be quite cold. Q. _Why do SOME THINGS feel so much COLDER than others?_ A. Principally because _they are better conductors_; and, therefore, draw off the heat from our body (which touches them) so much faster. Q. _What are the BEST CONDUCTORS of HEAT?_ A. _Dense solid bodies_, such as metal and stone. Q. _Which METALS are the most RAPID CONDUCTORS of HEAT?_ A. _Silver_ is the best conductor, then _copper_, then _gold_ or _tin_, then _iron_, then _zinc_, and then _lead_. Q. _What are the WORST CONDUCTORS of HEAT?_ A. All _light and porous bodies_, such as hair, fur, wool, charcoal, and so on. Q. _Why are COOKING VESSELS so often furnished with WOODEN HANDLES?_ A. Wood is _not a good conductor, like metal_; and, therefore, many vessels (which are exposed to the heat of the fire) _have wooden handles, lest they should burn our hands_ when we take hold of them. Q. _Why is the HANDLE OF A METAL TEA-POT made of WOOD?_ A. As _wood is a bad conductor_, the heat of the boiling water is _not so quickly conveyed to the wooden handle_, nor so quickly _poured into the hand_ by it, as when the handle is made of metal. Q. _Why would a METAL HANDLE BURN the HAND of the tea-maker?_ A. As metal is an _excellent conductor_, the heat of the boiling water _rushes quickly into the metal handle_, and _into the hand that touches it_. Q. _How do you know that a METAL HANDLE would be HOTTER than a WOODEN one?_ A. By _touching the metal collar_ into which the wooden handle is fixed: though the _wooden handle is quite cold_, this _metal collar is intensely hot_. Q. _Why do persons use paper or WOOLLEN KETTLE-HOLDERS to take hold of a kettle with?_ A. Paper and woollen are both very _bad conductors of heat_; and, therefore, the heat of the kettle does _not readily pass through them to the hand_. Q. _Does the heat of the boiling kettle NEVER get through the woollen or paper kettle-holder?_ A. Yes; but though the kettle-holder became as hot as the kettle itself, it would never _feel_ so hot. Q. _Why would not the kettle-holder FEEL so hot as the kettle, when it really is of the same temperature?_ A. Because (being a very _bad_ conductor) _it disposes of its heat so slowly_, that it is _scarcely perceptible_; but metal (being an _excellent_ conductor) disposes of its heat so _quickly_, that the sudden influx is painful. Q. _Why then does HOT METAL feel so much MORE intensely WARM than HOT WOOL?_ A. Because it gives out a much _greater quantity of heat in the same space of time_; and the _influx_ of heat is, therefore, _more perceptible_. Q. _Why does MONEY in our pocket feel so HOT, when we stand BEFORE a FIRE?_