My College Physics Professor demonstrated this ability to teach the various physics involved.
Warning: Despite the science behind “Fire Walking,” it is still very dangerous! It should not be attempted by anyone! Failure to use the correct materials; no proper preparation, spending too much time on the “coals”, or a host of other things done wrong WILL result in severe, possibly life-threatening burns! I do
NOT recommend anyone ever attempting this! My Physics Prof. was just plain nuts anyway!
There are many different things that come into play in “Fire Walking.”
For starters, there is a difference between “Heat” and “Temperature.” Think about the last time you made a pizza: You cooked the pizza in an oven at 450 degrees Fahrenheit. When you opened the oven, reached in and tapped the edge of the crust to see if it was crispy enough,
everything in that oven was 450 degrees. The air was 450 degrees. The crust was 450 degrees. The cheese was 450 degrees. The metal pan was 450 degrees. You could tolerate the heat of the air and of the crust. But you knew better than to touch the metal pan! They were all the same temperature, but each material conducted heat to either a lesser or greater degree than the others.
Likewise, when you bit down on the finished pizza, the top of you mouth is always the part that gets burned, but not the bottom. Yet both the top and bottom of the pizza are the exact same temperature. But the cheese conducts that heat more efficiently than the crust on the bottom
So when it comes to Fire Walking, using the proper type of wood to make the “coals” will not conduct as much heat as other types of material. Using the wrong type of wood to make the "coals" can (and will) make Fire Walking impossible!
There is also something called the
“Leidenfrost Effect.” This is where a cooler (especially a wet) object comes into contact with a hot object. An instant insulating layer of steam is formed between the two. If you watch closely, all Fire Walking either takes place at night with dew on surrounding grass, or the organizers of the Fire Walk actually hose down the participant’s feet with water!
And it is also important to measure the amount of time the Fire Walkers are actually on the “coals.” It is usually less than a few seconds.
You can read more about Fire Walking by
clicking here.
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