Thermal parameters as shown in KER

[LN400]

I am looking at KER's thermal display and it has all sorts of parameters and numbers I assume are read from the game, that is they are not numbers created out of thin air by KER. Now the question(s):

Is there a nice, easy to read write-up on all the parameters, how they relate to one another, to the external environment, which figures matter more than others and why, etc etc? If there isn't, could one who has a good grasp on these things in physics give an easy to read explanation to what it all means? I do have some idea and a few are self explanatory but the others not so much and I am pretty much guessing on their meaning and significance.

Edited August 10, 2016 by LN400

[Alshain]

So, I'm assuming Hottest and Coolest are self explanatory.

Critical part is the most vulnerable part to structural failure.  This means, that part is currently the closest to being at risk.  Critical Thermal Percentage tells you just how close, at 100% it's a gonner.  Note: Just because a part shows up doesn't mean it's close to death.  Even on the launchpad the system picks a part to display, you have to compare to the percentage.  You can also compare it to the actual temperature which is displayed in current/maximum format.

Flux is the rate at which heat energy is transferred in specific methods.  Internal Flux is the generation of heat by a part (engines/drills). Convection Flux is heat energy spreading through the air molecules, this includes atmospheric heating during re-entry. Radiation Flux is the heat energy radiating out, this can be augmented with radiators.  There is also conductive flux, which is transferring from one part to another that it touches, however KER deals in craft, not parts, so this isn't available.  With Flux a positive number means you are gaining heat and a negative means you are losing heat.

So, with that in mind if your combined Flux (Internal + Radiation + Convection) is negative, your overall craft temperatures should decrease, positive and it will increase.  Flux values are a good way for determining just how much radiator you need to offset internal heat for things like drilling or long burns with a nuclear engine.  However this requires you launch the craft to see the values so unless you are planning to revert or are doing some HyperEdit testing, they may not be that useful to you.

Edited August 11, 2016 by Alshain

[LN400]

Thanks tons for that post. I had some idea about flux but I wasn't entirely sure, especially because this is a game and not the real world so how things worked here was largely guesswork on what the various fluxes meant. Now I know so thanks again.