Explained: How CTA Heat Lamps Warm Commuters

Dawn Rhodes shares a little scientific insight into how the "orange-ish glow" of infared heat lamps actually warm commuters: " The infrared light, though not as luminous as an incandescent bulb at home, still creates loads of energy that can warm a commuter — just not the way you might have expected."

The surprise is just how the warming process works. Rhodes quotes Brian Cannon, assistant professor of physics at Loyola University Chicago to explain: "Our skin tissue is primarily water….Water molecules on our skin are able to absorb that light, which makes them move faster. That increased motion is what heat is."

Rhodes goes on to explain a bit more about how the heat lamps work as well as details about the operation of heating facilities around Chicago.