SF-2133 -- Subjective Warmth in Relation to the Density, Duration, and Areal Extent of Infra-Red Irradiation PDF

That our sensations vary in apparent intensity from dim to bright, from soft to hard, from light to heavy, from warm to hot, etc. -- is one of the most salient features of human sensory experience. The manner in which the apparent magnitude of sensation depends on the physical magnitude of stimulation comprises the core subject of inquiry in the discipline known as psychophysics. The present paper asks the following psychophysical question: can the degree of warmth sensation experienced be related quantitatively to the degree of thermal stimulation of the skin surface? If so, does the functional relation between sensation magnitude and stimulus magnitude depend on how long the stimulation lasts and how it is distributed over the sensory surface?.