Why does a metal bar appear hotter than a wooden bar at the same temperature? Equivalently it also appears cooler than wooden bar if they are both colder than room temperature.

The law of conduction of heat depends on the conductivity of the material.

Here, “H” is the rate of heat transfer, “K” is the thermal conductivity constant, A is the area of cross-section, T₂-T₁ is the temperature difference.

Metals have higher conductivity than wood. This means when we touch hot metals or wood, the heat from the metals flow after towards our hands as compared to that of wood. So, they appear hotter. The same theory goes when the two bars are cooled. Here, the heat from our body has a least resistive path when we touch metals as they have higher conductivity. So, heat is dissipated faster in metals than in wood and we feel them cooler.