  Granular media are considered "athermal", because the grains are too large to
display Brownian type thermal fluctuations. Yet being macroscopic, every grain
undergoes thermal expansion, possesses a temperature that may be measured with
a thermometer, and consists of many, many internal degrees of freedom that in
their sum do affect granular dynamics. Therefore, including them in a
comprehensive approach to account for granular behavior entails crucial
advantages. The pros and cons of thermal versus athermal descriptions are
considered.
