Scientific American Supplement, No. 360, November 25, 1882Various
Science
Scientific American Supplement, No. 360, November 25, 1882
Various
Science -- Periodicals
In order to show how the head, eyes, and lungs were protected by the
wire gauze apparatus, one of the experimenters put on the asbestos
bonnet, helmet, and cuirass, and fixed the shield in front of his
breast. Then, in a chafing dish placed on a level with his shoulder, a
great fire of shavings was lighted, and care was taken to keep it up.
Into the midst of these flames the experimenter then plunged his head
and remained thus five or six minutes with his face turned toward them.
In an exhibition given at Paris before a committee from the Academic
des Sciences, there were set up two parallel fences formed of straw,
connected by iron wire to light wicker work, and arranged so as to leave
between them a passage 3 feet wide by 30 long. The heat was so intense,
when the fences were set on fire, that no one could approach nearer than
20 or 25 feet; and the flames seemed to fill the whole space between
them, and rose to a height of 9 or 10 feet. Six men clad in the Aldini
suit went in, one behind the other, between the blazing fences, and
walked slowly backward and forward in the narrow passage, while the fire
was being fed with fresh combustibles from the exterior. One of these
men carried on his back, in an ozier basket covered with wire gauze, a
child eight years of age, who had on no other clothing than an asbestos
bonnet. This same man, having the child with him, entered on another
occasion a clear fire whose flames reached a height of 18 feet, and
whose intensity was such that it could not be looked at. He remained
therein so long that the spectators began to fear that he had succumbed;
but he finally came out safe and sound.
One of the conclusions to be drawn from the facts just stated is that
man can breathe in the midst of flames. This marvelous property cannot
be attributed exclusively to the cooling of the air by its passage
through the gauze before reaching the lungs; it shows also a very great
resistance of our organs to the action of heat. The following, moreover,
are direct proofs of such resistance. In England, in their first
experiment, Messrs. Joseph Banks, Charles Blagden, and Dr. Solander
remained for ten minutes in a hot-house whose temperature was 211°
Fahr., and their bodies preserved therein very nearly the usual heat. On
breathing against a thermometer they caused the mercury to fall several
degrees. Each expiration, especially when it was somewhat strong,
produced in their nostrils an agreeable impression of coolness, and the
same impression was also produced on their fingers when breathed upon.
When they touched themselves their skin seemed to be as cold as that of
a corpse; but contact with their watch chains caused them to experience
a sensation like that of a burn. A thermometer placed under the tongue
of one of the experimenters marked 98° Fahr., which is the normal
temperature of the human species.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account