Latest news with #HannahFry
Scottish Sun
11-07-2025
- Automotive
- Scottish Sun
Motorists told ‘do not blast air con in cars' – the fluid dynamics trick you should try to cool it down instead
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) BLASTING you car's AC to battle the summer heat can be a costly venture. Thankfully, there's a simple trick you can use instead, and it won't cost you a thing. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 2 A simple trick can help cool down your car's interior in the scorching summer heat (stock image) Credit: Getty An Instagram user Hannah Fry, who has a PhD in fluid dynamics, shared the genius life hack. And with yet another stint of soaring temperatures across the UK, now is the time to try it out. According to Hannah, you can cool down the inside of your car in seconds using a simple scientific method. With temperatures set to spike as high as 33 degrees Celsius in certain areas, now is the time to beat the summer heat. But don't waste time and money running your car's air con on the highest setting. Free hack Instead, make use of fluid dynamics to cool your car's interior by strategically opening certain doors and windows. "Don't bother putting on the air con, that would take about five minutes, it's not worth it," Hannah explained. She stepped out of the driver's seat to demonstrate the quick car cooling technique. Hannah recommended opening the window on the opposite side of the driver's seat. After rolling down the back window, she "very quickly" hopped out of her car. Dr explains why cold showers or baths are a bad idea to cool you down "I mean you do look a bit like an idiot if you do this - but you just very quickly open and close the driver's doors," she said as she carried out the step. Hannah rapidly opened and closed the car door three times before re-entering the vehicle. She told her followers that the car's interior already felt significantly cooler than before. Scientific method The Instagrammer detailed the scientific method behind her approach. She explained how swinging the door outward pushes away all the air in its path. How to keep cool in a heatwave Most of us welcome hot weather, but when it's too hot, there are health risks. Here are three ways to keep cool according to the NHS... Keep out of the heat if you can. If you have to go outside, stay in the shade especially between 11am and 3pm, wear sunscreen, a hat and light clothes, and avoid exercise or activity that makes you hotter. Cool yourself down. Have cold food and drinks, avoid alcohol, caffeine and hot drinks, and have a cool shower or put cool water on your skin or clothes. Keep your living space cool. Close windows during the day and open them at night when the temperature outside has gone down. Electric fans can help if the temperature is below 35 degrees. Check the temperature of rooms, especially where people at higher risk live and sleep. This then creates a low-pressure zone between the driver's seat and the door. According to the scientist, this sets up something called bulk flow, drawing the "hot sweaty horrible air" inside outwards. This is then replaced with "nice fresh easy air" ensuring your space is "suddenly beautifully temperate". Hannah recommended swinging your door open and closed three to four times to see the best results. More heatwave hacks Or if you still prefer to use your car's AC, use this budget buy to elevate it further. And avoid keeping these six items in your car during the soaring summer temperatures. Another kitchen staple can also help to keep your car cool in a heatwave. Plus, how to look out for symptoms of your body overheating this summer.
The Irish Sun
11-07-2025
- Automotive
- The Irish Sun
Motorists told ‘do not blast air con in cars' – the fluid dynamics trick you should try to cool it down instead
BLASTING you car's AC to battle the summer heat can be a costly venture. Thankfully, there's a simple trick you can use instead, and it won't cost you a thing. 2 A simple trick can help cool down your car's interior in the scorching summer heat (stock image) Credit: Getty An Instagram user Hannah Fry, who has a PhD in fluid dynamics, And with yet another stint of soaring temperatures across the UK, now is the time to try it out. According to Hannah, you can cool down the inside of your car in seconds using a simple scientific method. With temperatures set to spike as high as 33 degrees Celsius in certain areas, now is the time to beat the summer heat. Read More On Motors But don't waste time and money running your car's air con on the highest setting. Free hack Instead, make use of fluid dynamics to cool your car's interior by strategically opening certain doors and windows. "Don't bother putting on the air con, that would take about five minutes, it's not worth it," Hannah explained. She stepped out of the driver's seat to demonstrate the quick car cooling technique. Most read in Motors Hannah recommended opening the window on the opposite side of the driver's seat. After rolling down the back window, she "very quickly" hopped out of her car. Dr explains why cold showers or baths are a bad idea to cool you down "I mean you do look a bit like an idiot if you do this - but you just very quickly open and close the driver's doors," she said as she carried out the step. Hannah rapidly opened and closed the car door three times before re-entering the vehicle. She told her followers that the car's interior already felt significantly cooler than before. Scientific method The Instagrammer detailed the scientific method behind her approach. She explained how swinging the door outward pushes away all the air in its path. How to keep cool in a heatwave Most of us welcome hot weather, but when it's too hot, there are health risks. Here are three ways to keep cool according to the NHS... Keep out of the heat if you can. If you have to go outside, stay in the shade especially between 11am and 3pm, wear sunscreen, a hat and light clothes, and avoid exercise or activity that makes you hotter. Cool yourself down. Have cold food and drinks, avoid alcohol, caffeine and hot drinks, and have a cool shower or put cool water on your skin or clothes. Keep your living space cool. Close windows during the day and open them at night when the temperature outside has gone down. Electric fans can help if the temperature is below 35 degrees. Check the temperature of rooms, especially where people at higher risk live and sleep. This then creates a low-pressure zone between the driver's seat and the door. According to the scientist, this sets up something called bulk flow, drawing the "hot sweaty horrible air" inside outwards. This is then replaced with "nice fresh easy air" ensuring your space is "suddenly beautifully temperate". Hannah recommended swinging your door open and closed three to four times to see the best results. More heatwave hacks Or if you still prefer to use your car's AC, use this And Another Plus, how to look out for symptoms of your body overheating this summer. 2 Instead of blasting your car's AC, you can use fluid dynamics to cool down the interior (stock image) Credit: Getty
The Sun
11-07-2025
- Automotive
- The Sun
Motorists told ‘do not blast air con in cars' – the fluid dynamics trick you should try to cool it down instead
BLASTING you car's AC to battle the summer heat can be a costly venture. Thankfully, there's a simple trick you can use instead, and it won't cost you a thing. 2 An Instagram user Hannah Fry, who has a PhD in fluid dynamics, shared the genius life hack. And with yet another stint of soaring temperatures across the UK, now is the time to try it out. According to Hannah, you can cool down the inside of your car in seconds using a simple scientific method. With temperatures set to spike as high as 33 degrees Celsius in certain areas, now is the time to beat the summer heat. But don't waste time and money running your car's air con on the highest setting. Free hack Instead, make use of fluid dynamics to cool your car's interior by strategically opening certain doors and windows. "Don't bother putting on the air con, that would take about five minutes, it's not worth it," Hannah explained. She stepped out of the driver's seat to demonstrate the quick car cooling technique. Hannah recommended opening the window on the opposite side of the driver's seat. After rolling down the back window, she "very quickly" hopped out of her car. "I mean you do look a bit like an idiot if you do this - but you just very quickly open and close the driver's doors," she said as she carried out the step. Hannah rapidly opened and closed the car door three times before re-entering the vehicle. She told her followers that the car's interior already felt significantly cooler than before. Scientific method The Instagrammer detailed the scientific method behind her approach. She explained how swinging the door outward pushes away all the air in its path. How to keep cool in a heatwave Most of us welcome hot weather, but when it's too hot, there are health risks. Here are three ways to keep cool according to the NHS... Keep out of the heat if you can. If you have to go outside, stay in the shade especially between 11am and 3pm, wear sunscreen, a hat and light clothes, and avoid exercise or activity that makes you hotter. Cool yourself down. Have cold food and drinks, avoid alcohol, caffeine and hot drinks, and have a cool shower or put cool water on your skin or clothes. Keep your living space cool. Close windows during the day and open them at night when the temperature outside has gone down. Electric fans can help if the temperature is below 35 degrees. Check the temperature of rooms, especially where people at higher risk live and sleep. This then creates a low-pressure zone between the driver's seat and the door. According to the scientist, this sets up something called bulk flow, drawing the "hot sweaty horrible air" inside outwards. This is then replaced with "nice fresh easy air" ensuring your space is "suddenly beautifully temperate". Hannah recommended swinging your door open and closed three to four times to see the best results. More heatwave hacks Or if you still prefer to use your car's AC, use this budget buy to elevate it further. And avoid keeping these six items in your car during the soaring summer temperatures. Another kitchen staple can also help to keep your car cool in a heatwave. Plus, how to look out for symptoms of your body overheating this summer. 2
Daily Mail
09-07-2025
- Climate
- Daily Mail
BBC star reveals why London Underground is 40°C 'bowels of hell' in a heatwave - and why air-con will NEVER work
Britain is poised for another blistering heatwave, with a six-day spell of hot weather about to be unleashed, according to weather experts. Officials at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) have issued the yellow warning for southern England and the Midlands from 10am this morning until next Tuesday. Commuters in the capital will face soaring temperatures of 33°C outside, with the London Underground set to be significantly hotter. Scientist and BBC presenter Hannah Fry took to Instagram earlier this week to explain why the city's Tube gets so 'disgustingly hot' - and deliver the news that there's no easy way to cool it down. Sharing the post with her 1.4million followers on her @fryrsquared page, the Maths Professor revealed that the Victorian transport network, which was dug out of London clay in the 1860s, has effectively been a 'slow cooker' ever since. Fry explained the temperature of the clay tunnels would once have been at around 14°C but trains and commuters - millions every day - have been warming up the system ever since. She explained: 'All of these trains have been going in and out of these tunnels and all of these people have been filling them up - 5 million people a day. 'They've been adding heat to this essentially closed system, slowly warming up that clay so that it's now 26°C.' Fry said that the system is now 'essentially saturated with the heat of over a century, which means that any extra heat that gets generated inside of these tunnels just warms up the air inside.' Even if it's only between 25°C and 26°C outside, commuters can still expect 40°C inside, she added, with air vents created at the time it was built largely ineffective. The scientist described London 's Undergound as 'basically a slow cooker that has been going since Queen Victoria was on the throne.' For those heading down the escalators into the system this week, it's a case of grin and bear it - with no viable fix available. Fry said: 'If you add in an air-con system, you're making it colder in one bit but hotter in another and the surrounding clay is just going to bring that heat back up. 'For the foreseeable future, unless you can work out how to cool down the clay, the London Tube is going to remain like the bowels of hell during summer.' Temperatures in the UK will build from today as the heatwave starts, with 28C (82F) in parts of central and eastern England and eastern Wales - before rising to 30C (86F) tomorrow. Friday will be even warmer with 31C (88F) before the mercury hits 32C (90F) to 33C (91F) this weekend. Monday, the final day of the heatwave, will reach 29C (84F). An official heatwave is hit when areas reach a certain temperature for three days in a row, with thresholds varying between 25C (77F) and 28C (82F) in different areas. Last month, Fry shared a clever trick for ridding a vehicle of hot air in seconds during a heatwave. The presenter shared the science-based hack ahead of the last heatwave. Fry, who has a PHD in fluid dynamics, the study of how liquids and gases flow, said a few simple moves could help dramatically cool a car in seconds. In the video, she says 'Don't bother putting on the air-con, that would take about five minutes - it's not worth it'. Hannah is then seen opening the rear passenger left hand side window - but says any window on the opposite side to the driver's will do. The next move, she admits, might make people 'look like a bit of an idiot' and involves very quickly opening and closing the driver's door - but, she says, the hack starts to immediately cool the car. How does it work? Hannah explains: 'When you open and close the door, and you do it quickly, the door, as it's moving outwards, sweeps out all of the air that's in the way, creating this area of low pressure.' Returning to a vehicle left in hot sunshine can leave passengers facing scalding seatbelt buckles and red-hot steering wheels - but there is a quick fix, says Hannah The science whizz continues: 'That creates something called bulk flow, which means all of the hot, sweaty, horrible air inside the car is drawn outwards.' Pointing at the open window on the other side of the car, Hannah says: 'And the only way to re-fill it is with nice, fresh, easy air from over that side.' She adds: 'It only takes two or three goes and suddenly it's beautifully temperate'. The hack has sparked plenty of responses, with BBC radio star Zoe Ball posting: 'Trying this NOW'. One person, from Australia, said there was no shame in looking silly if it made for a cooler car, saying: 'I will try that and no one in Australia would ever be embarrassed trying anything to cool down our cars before we get in. 'Most times we can't even touch the steering wheel or the belt buckle in the summer.' Another impressed follower added: 'This may be the best reel I have ever seen.' One person said it might take a little more than flow dynamics to outwit a Sunshine State summer, saying: 'I mean this DOES work, but "temperate" might be a pretty bigvstretch for those of us in Florida. Lol. I have a burn scar on my thigh from my seat belt.' In the UK in the coming days, the Government agency has warned that significant impacts are likely across health and social care services, including an increase in demand, during the alert period. The UK's hottest day of the year so far was recorded last Saturday when Charlwood in Surrey reached 33.2C (91.8F) – but this could be beaten over the coming days.
Daily Mirror
06-07-2025
- Automotive
- Daily Mirror
Scientist's genius hack to cool down a hot car without using air con
With sizzling temperatures climbing up to 36C in the coming weeks, Brits are being urged to try this super simple hack that cools their cars down in seconds - without having to reach for the air con UK motorists are being urged to stop reaching for the air conditioning button and check out this super simple hack instead. An acclaimed scientist has come up with a super smart system for cooling down a cooking car during the increasingly common UK heatwaves. It comes as Brits up and down the nation brace for yet another hot spell this month - with red-hot weather maps showing sizzling temperatures of up to 36C are on the way. When it's 30°C, within 30 minutes the interior of a vehicle can reach 50°C because of the greenhouse effect. This is where sunlight passes through glass windows heats the interior, but is unable to escape easily, causing inside temperatures to significantly exceed those outside. And it's not just unpleasant: extreme heat can turn everyday items left inside a car into dangerous hazards — they can ignite, leak harmful substances and even explode. For many, air conditioning is a lifesaver during these sweaty months. However, it can take multiple minutes to cool your car's cabin, and it can be expensive to use for long journeys. In fact, experts over at Kwik Fit report that putting on the AC can increase fuel consumption by 8-10 per cent, or about 0.2 to 0.4 litres per hour. However, scientist and BBC presenter Hannah Fry took to TikTok to reveal a clever science -based trick that can do the job in seconds - and costs nothing. The mathematician with a PhD in fluid dynamics — the study of how liquids and gases flow — shared her heroic hack on social media just ahead of another UK heatwave. She explained that instead of immediately turning on the air con, a few simple steps can radically reduce the temperature inside a vehicle almost instantaneously. In her video, Hannah demonstrates the technique by first opening the rear passenger window on the side opposite to the driver, before quickly opening and closing the driver's door several times. Although this may look a tad odd, the effect is pretty much immediate. Hannah explains: "When you open and close the door, and you do it quickly, the door, as it's moving outwards, sweeps out all of the air that's in the way, creating this area of low pressure." This process generates what is known as bulk flow, which effectively draws the hot, stale air out of the car. As the rear window on the opposite side is open, fresh, cooler air rushes in to replace the expelled hot air. Hannah notes that 'it only takes two or three goes and suddenly it's beautifully temperate', making your motor much more manageable in no time at all. This method is particularly useful during heatwaves such as the one currently affecting the UK and parts of Europe, with temperatures reaching record highs. On July 1, the Met Office confirmed a peak of 34.7 degrees Celsius at St James' Park in London, surpassing previous records for 2025. Hannah Fry 's fluid dynamics hack provides a simple, effective way to beat the heat inside a car without waiting for the air conditioning to catch up. By understanding how air pressure and flow work inside a vehicle, drivers can cool their cars rapidly and comfortably, even during intense heatwaves. Plus, you'll save on money!
