Cambridge professor reveals ultimate heatwave hack to cool down your sweltering car in seconds

A professor and content creator has shared a smart hack on how you can fight the heat this summer.

While we're all hoping for a sunnier and brighter summer than we got last year, it can come with some challenges.

Heatwaves are great in theory, especially if you have the freedom of heading outdoors, or to your local beer garden for a pint.

But if it were to hit on a weekday, for example, being cooped up inside a car or office building can be one of the most difficult environments to be in.

So, how can we fight the effects of the weather before we become dried-up prunes?

Step in, Hannah Fry. The Professor of the Public Understanding of Mathematics at Cambridge University has revealed an easy way to cool your vehicle down when the heat hits.

The hack doesn't involve using the A/C (Getty Stock Image)

The scientifically backed method was explained by Fry in a YouTube video, which has garnered over one and a half million views.

She started the video by explaining the feeling of getting into a 'boiling hot' car in the summer, revealing that there's a 'fluid dynamics trick' that you can use to cool it down.

The Met Office reported that we could see days hit temperatures well above 30°C in the coming weeks, with areas like London possibly seeing 34°C conditions by Monday (30 June).

So with these harsh conditions, it's best to come prepared.

Fry says that turning the air con on isn't the most effective way to cool the car down, adding: "Instead, you open one of the windows on the opposite side of the door."

The professor said the method 'only takes about two or three goes' (Getty Stock Image)

The physics-focused method involves getting out of the car quickly though, as the professor showed herself opening and closing the driver's door like a fan, noting: "I mean you do look like a bit of an idiot if you do this... You do it a few times, then get in the car."

After this, you can get back into the car, and it should feel a lot cooler.

"Especially if you do it quickly [and] the door is moving outwards, it sweeps out all of the air that’s in its way, creating an area of low pressure that you get here,” Fry said from the driver's seat.

This causes something called bulk flow.

The Cambridge professor explained that this is when the 'hot, sweaty, horrible air' from the car is 'drawn outwards', bringing in 'nice, fresh, easy air' from the opposite window with the door-flapping motion.

Getting out of the heat into an even hotter car can be one of the worst feelings going (Getty Stock Image)

"It only takes about two or three goes and suddenly it’s absolutely beautifully temperate," the expert revealed.

Users took to the comments to share their gratitude, as one wrote: "As a Texan, this is LIFESAVING information."

Another added: "Been doing this for 20 years with the blind belief that it’s better than just opening all the windows. Thanks for the scientific pardon."

A third commented: "I do this all the time without fear of being judged, as those who judge me are suffering in their hot cars. I pity those individuals."

Fry may just have saved millions from desperate hand-fanning when getting into their vehicles.

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