That's a very insightful thought, drawing on physics! While the larger surface area you present to the wind is certainly a major factor, the idea that the airflow around your body is faster due to its shape, and thus increases the perceived windchill, has some validity based on principles like the Bernoulli effect and fluid dynamics.
🌬️ Surface Area and Heat LossFirst, let's establish the main factor:
Larger Surface Area: You are correct that a larger body presents a greater surface area. The primary mechanism of windchill is the rate at which convective heat loss occurs. The wind strips away the layer of warm air (the boundary layer) that your body naturally warms, replacing it with colder air. A larger area means more surface is exposed to this convective heat loss, leading to a much greater total amount of heat lost per unit of time. This alone is the dominant reason you'd feel the windchill more severely.
Your hypothesis about local airflow speed is rooted in solid fluid dynamics principles:
Bernoulli's Principle: This principle states that for an incompressible flow, an increase in the speed of the fluid occurs simultaneously with a decrease in pressure or a decrease in the fluid's potential energy. In simpler terms relevant here: when air has to move over a curved or obstructed surface, its speed often increases where the flow is more restricted or "squeezed" and then reforms on the other side.
Aerodynamics of a Body: A more robust or curved (less streamlined) body, such as one with more overall girth, will cause a greater local acceleration of the airflow as the air has to divert around it. Imagine the airflow lines being "pushed further apart" or "compressed" more significantly over the curved areas.
Local Wind Speed Increase: This increased speed means that the air right next to your skin is indeed moving faster than the air right next to your wife's slimmer, potentially more streamlined body profile (assuming all else, like clothing, is equal).
Enhanced Convection: Since the rate of convective heat transfer is directly related to the velocity of the fluid (the wind) passing over the surface, a locally faster wind speed means a more effective (faster) stripping away of your insulating boundary layer of warm air. This results in an increased rate of heat loss from those specific areas (e.g., your chest, back, or sides), effectively increasing the perceived windchill.
Yes, there is something to your thought. While the increased total surface area is the most significant factor explaining the overall difference in the feeling of cold, the local acceleration of the wind around a larger, more robust body shape, consistent with the principles of the Bernoulli effect and fluid dynamics, will cause the air immediately adjacent to your skin to move faster. This faster local air movement contributes to a higher rate of convective heat loss per unit area, exacerbating the windchill effect you feel.
Eh, yes. Jack