Cosmological analogies, Lagrangians, and symmetries for convective-radiative heat transfer

Abstract

A formal analogy between the Friedmann equation of relativistic cosmology and models of convective-radiative cooling/heating of a body (including Newton's, Dulong-Petit's, Newton-Stefan's laws, and a generalization) is discussed. The analogy highlights Lagrangians, symmetries, and mathematical properties of the solutions of these cooling laws.