If you were the last person on Earth, how long could you survive?

[retina]

Originally Posted by Uncwilly

Dry hands are important ...

Burns from scalding water can be very severe because of the penetration of the steam deep into the skin. Even when the temperature remains below 100C the evaporated steam still scalds deeply. This is probably the same for any liquid near its boiling point.

[Dr Sardonicus]

Originally Posted by retina

It isn't that the nail heads are hotter than the other things, it is the amount of heat energy they can transfer to your skin. It is all about thermal conductivity.

Yep. Sitting on the wood was no problem. Poor thermal conductivity. The benches consisted of boards running side to side, nailed to support members underneath that ran front-to-back. The support members were far enough apart that sitting between the rows of nails was no problem. The nail heads were countersunk, but your skin could still get to them. Also, for some reason, the nails sometimes started to pop up a bit. The environment -- hot and humid when the sauna was in use, dry and close to room temp when not, probably had something to do with that.

I don't know what the environment in a sauna would do to the average cell phone
:-D

[xilman]

Originally Posted by Uncwilly

One can find videos of individuals passing clean hands through molten metal.

BTDT. It's really quite simple if the melting point of the metal is -39C and the metal is at room temperature.

Even though eutectic NaK is liquid at room temperature, I'm not sure I'd want to put bare hands in it. A short time with dry hands perhaps. I've handled solid Na and K individually without ill effect.

[xilman]

Originally Posted by Dr Sardonicus

The nail heads were countersunk, but your skin could still get to them.

I don't know what the environment in a sauna would do to the average cell phone
:-D

In a decent sauna the metal fixings are applied from underneath the horizontal sections and from behind the upright surfaces. Second-rate saunas countersink the screws and then plug the hole with wood. Third-rate saunas leave exposed metal.

I've seen people use a phone in a sauna, but not often. It's seriously impolite behaviour.

[Uncwilly]

Originally Posted by xilman

BTDT. It's really quite simple if the melting point of the metal is -39C and the metal is at room temperature.

I was speaking of steel or iron. Wood's metal or solder is no fun.

WRT to hot water. Terry-cloth oven mitts and autoclaves can be a poor mix. A little liquid on them can make them quite conductive.

[chalsall]

Originally Posted by axn

Isn't this the plot of "I am legend" movie?

I'm coming into this rather late, but Douglas Coupland did an interesting take on this subject domain in his Girlfriend in a Coma novel.

[MooMoo2]

Originally Posted by xilman

I frequently spend 20+ minutes at 85-95C, lying down. If a bench has exposed metal it needs fixing. Nothing to do with lying down --- a nail head is painful wherever it touches.

The hottest at which I've spent any significant time is around 110C to 115C.

With an unlimited supply of cold water to drink I could spend much longer times in a sauna.

At the other end of the thermal spectrum I've removed items from buckets of liquid nitrogen. The secret is to have dry hands and not to hold on to metal for more than a small fraction of a second.

This reminds me of this thread: http://www.mersenneforum.org/showthread.php?t=13877

Originally Posted by Uncwilly

There was more than one experiment. It was the US military that did the endurance testing. They did 'heavily clothed' and unclad tests. If memory serves the clothed record was over 500 F.

On a related note, the hottest outdoor temperature I've been in is 115 F(46 C) a few weeks ago. For some (deranged?) reason, I thought it would be a good idea to stop by a nearby track and run a mile.

I ran it wearing a long sleeved T-shirt and shorts. Most people try to wear as little as they can in those conditions, but the clothes actually protect you from the heat. It felt like a hot blow-dryer was blasting every square inch of my body that was exposed, and it even hurt a bit to keep your eyes open. Heck, it was so hot that I couldn't even sweat during the run, though I did sweat like crazy afterwards.

For the record, my time was exactly 6 minutes.

[jvang]

Originally Posted by Uncwilly

One can find videos of individuals passing clean hands through molten metal.

One of those made the rounds on the internet a couple of weeks ago; it’s only possible with wet hands. The phenomenon is known as the Leidenfrost effect, which is very interesting to read about. Basically, the water on your hands vaporizes upon contact with the molten metal so violently that it creates a bubble of water vapor around your hand that prevents the metal from touching your skin

[Uncwilly]

Originally Posted by Uncwilly

They did 'heavily clothed' and unclad tests. If memory serves the clothed record was over 500 F. I have an older GBWR 1983 at home and will look into it when I get a chance.

GBWR 1983 "Special Edition" page 40

The highest dry-air temperature endured by naked men in U.S. Air Force experiments in 1960 was 400° F and for heavily clothed men 500°F. (Steaks require only 325°F.) Temperatures of 284°F have been found quite bearable in sauna baths.

Originally Posted by MooMoo2

On a related note, the hottest outdoor temperature I've been in is 115 F(46 C) a few weeks ago. For some (deranged?) reason, I thought it would be a good idea to stop by a nearby track and run a mile.

I don't trust car outside temp gauges. They don't follow the requirements for accurate readings. They tend to run high. I don't trust the ones on signs at businesses much more. [For the record I researched the placement of rain gauges when we had to replace one at work.]

[Dr Sardonicus]

Originally Posted by Uncwilly

GBWR 1983 "Special Edition" page 40

Nice bit of research!

Hmm, I guess 500°F would be pretty rough on bare skin.

Steak requires only 325°F? What kind of steak is that? In my book, grilling or broiling is the best way to go. 500°F sounds a bit low for a broiler. If it's a thick steak, you need to use moderate heat for some of the time (unless you like your steak burned on the outside and really mooing in the middle), but intense heat is a must to get the best flavor. Rare to medium rare, with a nice brown crust, yum-yum!

(Of course, there are aberrant individuals who like steak well-done with ketchup.)

[jasong]

Originally Posted by retina

You would have to learn to live off the land or you will die of starvation or thurstation* after a few months.

English needs a single word to describe death from lack of water.[/size]

I'm reasonably certain there's a suffix that means to cause death, but I can't think of it.

Thistbani seems like a possibility, but bani isn't listed as a suffix, so maybe yours is better.