Shoutbox

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Originally posted by Voldemort

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Originally posted by mattisdada
Proper chemical and physical(wrong word i think but oh well) dont occur properly in high temperatures(and low).

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erm no

it varies.

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Indeed. In fact most things have more energy at higher temperatures as the particles in said object(be it a chemical, gas, piece of wood etc) move faster the hotter they are. This is why things react together when you heat them up.  It's all to do with the amount of collisions per second in a reaction, as that is what causes the reaction, particles hitting together. When you heat something it's particles subsequently move faster, resulting in more collisions per second(and some of a higher force, because the particles have to hit each other above a certain speed too, but that's another story) which makes the reaction occur.

The reason reactions stop at low temperatures is because the particles slow down and cannot react as fast. When you get down to absolute zero(0Kelvin or -273.15 Centigrade) the particles are said to have stopped moving altogether(but this is impossible to achieve artificially).

Er, anyway, the reason overheating is dangerous in computers(and life in general) is not because of any chemical related issues, but simply because the heat will damage the component, eg catching fire, melting, exploding etc. Sometimes it can be as simple as some solder being loosened and so some pins aren't connected properly etc. In humans the case is the same, overheating would lead to cells being destroyed - for example, on your skin the cells simply get burned. The rest of your body is mainly effected by heat in the form of dehydration however, and that is likely to kill you before you are burned alive(unless exposed to extreme heat or fire ofcourse ;p).