Is it a myth or are there proven facts of cases of spontaneous combustion of man and peat? There are many points of view on these phenomena. We will consider the most interesting of the existing ones.
Self-ignition is a phenomenon in which a person ignites without an external source of fire. This is a paranormal phenomenon, unproven by scientists. Some sources say that after a spontaneous combustion there remains a heap of ash, others claim that some parts of the body and whole clothes remain. Eyewitnesses prove that a person literally breaks out a flame from his mouth, and the body and head are charred to the ground in a matter of minutes. Some say that the flame is blue, others - that yellow.
All types of spontaneous combustion have a common sign - ignition without an external source of fire. The body burns faster than with ordinary burning. Statistics show that the phenomenon manifests itself indoors, and older men are more likely to be victims. Until today, there have been no recorded cases among crowds and in open areas. In addition, spontaneous combustion is not recorded among animals.
First spontaneous combustion
Human spontaneous combustion has been known since ancient times, but this phenomenon began to be included in official documents only in the 18th century: stories were considered reliable enough to be reflected in police records.
The first mention of spontaneous combustion is even in medieval literature. The scientist Thomas Bartolin in 1641 in his writings describes the details of the death of the knight Polonius Vorstii, who died in the XVI century, who drank wine and died of spontaneous combustion.
Divine Intervention
Christians considered spontaneous spontaneous combustion a punishment for breaking a deal with the devil.
Interestingly, the cause of death in 1725, the Parisian Madame Millet (drunken alcoholic) was indicated "Divine intervention." She, being in bed with her husband, burned to the ground, and the mattress remained almost intact!
In those days, based on the lifestyle of the dead, alcoholism was called the cause of spontaneous combustion. But is this the only sign?
Human spontaneous combustion is described in many films and literature, but Charles Dickens gave fame to this phenomenon, describing it in his novel Cold House.
Many representatives of the scientific world deny spontaneous spontaneous combustion of a person, but currently there are 120 officially registered cases of spontaneous combustion.
Popular Theories
There are several theories of the occurrence of spontaneous combustion.
The most common theories are:
- Alcoholism. With a very large amount of alcohol in the blood, a person can ignite from a regular spark from a cigarette, but many of the dead were not alcoholics and did not smoke! During experiments on mice, this theory was abandoned: dead mice were injected with 70% alcohol and tried to burn, but nothing came of it.
- The effect of a human candle. According to this theory, in the human body there is a lot of fat, which acts as a paraffin and contributes to the combustion process. It is known that mostly thin people burned, but this theory is also not reliable: there is no instant combustion, the body burns for several hours. The experiment was carried out on dead pigs dressed with woolen clothes.
- Fire from static electricity. The human body is able to accumulate static electricity, and people do not notice small discharges up to 3 thousand volts. Under certain atmospheric conditions, a large amount of charge can accumulate in the human body, but for spontaneous combustion to occur, the electrostatic discharge must be more than 40 thousand volts! By the way, for a person to burn to ashes, the temperature of spontaneous combustion should be above 1700 ° . Even in the crematorium, the combustion temperature is 1300 ° C.
- Acetone hypothesis. With a decrease in glucose, the main source of energy in the human body, biochemical processes begin in the blood, contributing to the production of acetone - the most combustible substance produced by our body.
Scientist Brian Ford in a number of experiments came closest to explaining the causes of spontaneous combustion. He put acetone-marinated pork in clothes and set it on fire. The carcasses burned out in less than half an hour, and the limbs and some parts of the clothes remained intact. The scientist explained that less acetone accumulates in the limbs, and called static electricity from clothes the cause of spontaneous combustion!
But all these theories do not explain the causes of spontaneous combustion!
Theory of Black Holes
There are several more theories that explain MSS (spontaneous spontaneous combustion of a person).
Yakov Zeldovich, a Soviet academician, in 1971 discovered natural microscopic black holes and called them otons. Black holes exist in the depths of the earth, not only in space, and emit a tremendous amount of energy. Some scientists are sure that it is the otons that cause spontaneous spontaneous combustion of a person, interacting with the internal otons in a collision with the human body. This provokes a thermal explosion, in which energy is not released, but absorbed, generating a high combustion temperature. As a result, the body burns out instantly.
Theory of time, nuclear reaction and electric permeability
Japanese scientist Hirachi Igo believes that the cause of spontaneous combustion is a change in the course of time in the human body.
When properly functioning, the human body emits generated heat into space. If a chronological malfunction occurs in internal processes, then the heat does not have time to go into space and a person burns out.
Some other scientists believe that a thermonuclear reaction is the source of life of a living cell. In the event of a cell malfunction, an uncontrolled chain reaction occurs that releases a huge amount of energy and literally incinerates a person.
As you know, the human heart works by generating pulses, but each one has a different electric cross: if someone discharges 220 volts does no harm, then for some it is certain death. So spontaneous combustion is entirely possible, doctors say. For example, if lightning struck somewhere nearby, then a person with increased electrical conductivity can burn to the ground.
From all of the above, we conclude that spontaneous combustion is an unproven phenomenon, the explanation of which scientists have not yet found, but research in this area continues. We hope that soon scientists will get to the bottom of the truth and tell the world the causes of these phenomena.
Peat formation
Spontaneous combustion of peat is easier to explain.
Peat is formed over thousands of years in a swampy area from the remains of biomass: roots and branches of shrubs, lichens, grass, moss, bark, which are not completely decomposed due to inaccessibility of air and high humidity. In different regions, the biochemical properties of peat vary. The rate of decomposition is affected by fungi, climate and the environment of the territory in which the process of plant decay took place.
Peat use
Peat is a combustible mineral used in various spheres of human activity. For example, in the production of medicines, as a fuel (peat is called the precursor of coal), in agriculture for fertilizing the soil and mulching, like bedding for livestock.
Peat extraction
There are several ways to extract peat:
- hydraulic;
- lump;
- carved;
- milling.
In the hydraulic method, the peat layer is washed out under high pressure with a jet of water, cleaned of wood residues and, after the accumulator pool, delivered for drying to special leveled areas.
The lump method is similar to the milling method, but with it peat is pressed under pressure in a cylinder, squeezed out through rectangular nozzles and the bars are left to dry on the field.
The carving method is the manual or mechanical cutting of peat bricks.
Also one of the methods of peat extraction is the fraser method, in which the tractor’s attachment loosens peat to a depth of 2 meters and dries on the field. It is turned over for better drying, and then rolled up into rolls, which are delivered to a special platform, where they are formed into shoulders.
Milled peat is believed to be most prone to fire.
Peat spontaneous combustion conditions
Scientists identify several reasons: genetic features, peat composition, storage conditions, humidity, environmental conditions, shelf life and breathability.
With an increase in temperature inside the stack above +50 ° , peat decomposes chemically, microbiological processes begin, and if air gets inside, spontaneous combustion will occur.
Researchers claim that the spontaneous occurrence of burning peat provokes a violation of storage conditions.
In this regard, scientists have come to the conclusion that peat spontaneous combustion is a myth!
Causes of Peat Fires
Other sources say that peat spontaneous combustion is a process that occurs only in peat that has been extracted and folded for drying, or drained, developed by a swamp when its surface is overheated.
Peat can ignite due to microorganisms: over time, the products of their vital activity accumulate, which lead to overheating of peat and an increase in temperature to +65 ° . If it rises, then peat will turn into semi-coke and ignite when interacting with oxygen.
The causes of peat fires are considered to be lightning strikes, grassroots wildfire, a long period of drought or the human factor: abandoned matches, arson of grass, spark from an unquenched fire.
The combustion process does not occur by open fire, but by decay and extends for many hundreds of meters in the lower layers. Peat smolders over the years; it is possible to detect foci of burning only by the emitted smoke.
So, is spontaneous combustion of peat a reality or fiction?
Despite all the assumptions and theories, in recent years we have more and more often heard in the press about frequent and prolonged peat fires in central Russia, the Siberian and Ural federal districts. And this happens in hot dry seasons with the direct influence of the human factor.