whats the scientific explanation for people being able to walk over hot coals?

Question

are there explanations for these types of things?

Answer 1

Fire walking requires some faith as well as knowledge: faith that the coals were prepared properly, that you can move fast enough to avoid getting burned, and that something will work in practice as you know it should in theory. Even so, whether the firewalker gets burned depends on how the coals were prepared and on how fast the firewalker moves, rather than on willpower, the power of the mind to create a protective shield, or any other paranormal or supernatural force

Answer 2

Sure. The ashes themselves, while extremely hot, do not carry much heat. That sounds like a contradiction, but you need to break it down into a couple concepts, temperature and heat capacity. Temperature is simply a measure of the average kinetic energy of a molecule of a substance. Heat capacity is the ability of a substance to hold a certain quantity of heat. The two are related by the equation below:

dH = c * dT

In the equation above, dH = heat released from the ashes into the foot, dT = difference in temperature of the ashes before and after contact with the foot, and c = specific heat.

The idea is that ashes have a very low value for c. That means that the ashes can contain only a small amount of heat but may have a very high temperature nonetheless. It's not the temperature itself that burns you, but it's the amount of heat energy transfered into your skin that does the damage (causes a burn). The less heat a substance holds at a given temperature, the less ability it has to cause a burn.

Another thing which helps out is that ashes aren't very thermally conductive. That means that even if they are holding heat at a high temperature, the heat has a hard time getting out. As an example, consider a mass of sheet metal and a mass of wood sitting out in the sun. Which one is hotter to the touch? The metal is since it has a higher thermal conductivity. This can be true even if the wood has a higher heat capacity.

So, basically that's the trick. Also, firewalkers walk fairly briskly. They don't take a leisurely stroll, that's for sure. That keeps the contact time down and lessens the heat transfer into the soles of the feet. Firewalkers may also coat their feet with water or other substances, which helps. Good firewalkers also are adept at hiding the expression of pain from their faces :) While their feet don't get burned, it still is a bit toasty!

Answer 3

There are a couple of things going on here.
The bottoms of your feet are very thick and less sensitive to heat than other surfaces of your body.
I saw a documentary about some tribe in africa or south america (i dont remember, it was a couple years back, and I really didnt care that much) where they used a low temperature burning rock which glows red at a temperature that wouldnt burn the feet.
Also, for walking on charcoal, reducing the time that your feet touch the coals will not allow enough heat transfer to burn you.

Answer 4

Sweat layer on the feet, quick walking and the fact that the top side of the coals are cooler than the buried coals. I've done it without injury.

Answer 5

For one thing, they move quickly, reducing the time in which flesh is contacting coals. Also, the coals aren't white/red hot- they will generally have an ashy exterior, which acts as an insulator.

Answer 6

A women near Seattle burnt her feet about 15 years ago during a fire-walking demonstration. Her feet were wet. Normally, ash is very dry and it is a very very good thermal insulator. You won't burn your feet . She tried to sue them but everyone had signed a waiver.
The seminar was this kind of mind-over-matter crap. They blamed her because she wasn't "thinking" hard enough.

Answer 7

Anyone can do it if they have confidence.

We're not talking coal - it's charcoal. If you are in contact with it for more than about 2 seconds, it will burn you. If you walk briskly, it will singe the soles of your feet without causing any major pain.

Answer 8

The coal is a poor conductor and contact time is not long enough to burn the feet.

Answer 9

"When two bodies of different temperatures meet, the hotter body will cool off, and the cooler body will heat up, until they are separated or until they meet at a temperature in between. What that temperature is, and how quickly it is reached, depends on the thermodynamic properties of the two bodies. The important properties are temperature, mass, specific heat capacity, and thermal conductivity."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firewalking

Answer 10

Mind over matter I expect, and walking bloody fast.