eCommons

 

The Mysteries of Firewalking Revealed

Loading...
Thumbnail Image

No Access Until

Permanent Link(s)

Other Titles

Abstract

The act of firewalking was once thought of as a supernatural experience, shrouded in mystery and revered as a feat of courage and determination. Through the use of computer aided engineering and basic thermodynamics, firewalking can now be explained scientifically. We created a mesh in GAMBIT that included a representation of a human foot, a steam layer and the hot coals. The steam layer was created by the Leidenfrost effect, which we were testing the validity of. We determined, using FIDAP, that the combined effect of the steam layer?s poor conduction and the favorable thermal properties of both the foot and coal make it is possible for anyone to walk along a hot coal bed. After taking away the steam layer, we discovered that the steam layer played a vital role in protecting the foot. If it is not present, the foot will be burnt, as the temperature of the foot at the location of the nerve ending will surpass the pain threshold temperature of 318 Kelvin.

Journal / Series

2002;3

Volume & Issue

Description

No access to the full paper due to lack of a FERPA release.

Sponsorship

Date Issued

2004-11-12T17:26:03Z

Publisher

Keywords

Location

Effective Date

Expiration Date

Sector

Employer

Union

Union Local

NAICS

Number of Workers

Committee Chair

Committee Co-Chair

Committee Member

Degree Discipline

Degree Name

Degree Level

Related Version

Related DOI

Related To

Related Part

Based on Related Item

Has Other Format(s)

Part of Related Item

Related To

Related Publication(s)

Link(s) to Related Publication(s)

References

Link(s) to Reference(s)

Previously Published As

Government Document

ISBN

ISMN

ISSN

Other Identifiers

Rights

Rights URI

Types

term paper

Accessibility Feature

Accessibility Hazard

Accessibility Summary

Link(s) to Catalog Record