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 All
my sponsorship was gathered online at www.justgiving.com/davidgregory
How did it all go?
Time: May
8th 2003 Place:
Frog and Forget Me Not - Tooting
7.30 prompt "Big Cliff" from
Blaze Firewalking called the group into the function room of The Frog
and Forget Me Not pub off Tooting High Street. The crew had
whipped all the chairs so I looked forward to a couple of hours of floor
sitting endurance.
"I'm going to show you how it is
possible to change your mind" Cliff bellowed. My back already
grumbling and a spot of cramp setting into my feet was almost enough to
'change my mind' and hot foot it down to the bar - boozing pre fire walk
had been strictly forbidden, however it was reassuring to see a few of
the Medical School students whacking back "squash" whilst watching the
Blaze team unload their van - sack after sack of chopped wood and a
whole lot of turf rolls to set up on.
Two hours of "mind changing"
later we were off down to the Beer Garden to examine the remnants of
what must have been two spectacular fires, now piles of fiercely glowing
embers. There was no doubt it was hot and uncertainty crept into
most of our minds. The larger coals were racked to the side and
then shovel loads of the embers were scooped into wheelbarrows and duly
scattered along the Fire Walks - two lanes of pristine turf. These
were then flattened down to prepare an even surface however during the
flattening the intense glow from the coals diminished - possibly
reassuring many of the walkers that it no longer looked as though on the
first step we would instantly frazzle.
 Time
to go. Cue lots of whooping and cheering. Cliff looked each
walker straight in the eye, he was "offering us the opportunity to
walk on fire" and shouted the same question: "What's your
name"? followed by "Are you ready to go?" then he stepped
aside and one by one we were off. Some ran like billy ho others,
myself included carefully paced across. I was 3/4 along when I
felt the sting of a burning ember between my toes and remembered that I
was supposed to be moving at speed. Oh oh.
Later that night after removing the blood
pressure monitor and being
transferred from A&E to a trolley in the hospital corridor I asked
Jan if she managed to get some good photos. "Yes dear"
she replied, "but I think we'll give it a while before we develop
them". Only kidding :-) take
with a pinch of salt
If you are thinking about organising a
charity Fire Walk to support the work of CRY contact them. It could be the shortest sponsored walk you'll ever do.
I'm now planning a to complete a fundraising event involving power
kite buggying with Jon at Chilli Kites.
After getting professional instruction and training I hope to power kite
surf along the Thames to raise awareness and money.
Can science explain fire-walking?
There are a number of theories which have
been put forward to explain firewalking. Any or all may be the
explanation for a particular event.
- The
dry wood coals used by firewalkers conduct heat very poorly. The
coal itself may be very hot but it will not transfer that heat to
something touching it.
- The
coals are a very uneven surface, and the actual surface area of foot
touching the coals is very small. Hence the conduction of heat is
even slower.
- Wood
coals have a very low heat capacity, so although they are very hot
there is actually not much heat energy to be transferred to the
foot.
- Firewalkers
do not spend very much time on the coals, and they keep moving -
about 1 second total contact time per foot seems on the safe side.
- Blood
is a good conductor of heat. What heat does get through is quickly
conducted away from the soles of the feet.
- The
"Leidenfrost" effect may play a part. This occurs when a
cold, wet object (like a foot) touches a hot, dry object (like a
burning coal). The water vaporises, creating a barrier of steam
between the hot and cold objects. Hence the two objects do not
actually touch and evaporation from the cold object is much slower
than might otherwise be expected. Since steam is a relatively poor
conductor of heat the foot does not get burned.
Pain perception is not as simple as
everyday experience suggests. Some people experience great pain without
any apparent cause. Others experience little or no pain despite great
injury. Cognitive and emotional factors seem to be important. A belief
that one has control over the pain seems to reduce the level of pain
experienced. Fear seems to increase it.
Firewalking is usually done in a
religious or spiritual context. This would tend to reduce the level of
pain experienced by firewalkers without affecting the amount of physical
damage done to the feet.
Some firewalkers put forward mystical
explanations of why firewalking is possible without serious physical
harm. A few skeptics have challenged these firewalkers to stand on hot
metal plates instead of coals. Others have pointed out that making such
a challenge in the belief that the firewalker would be seriously hurt is
of dubious morality.
Fire Walking Explained
Fire walking is often portrayed by new age gurus and personal
development salesmen as an example of what is possible when your mind is
pointing in the right direction. Of course, you can get your mind in the
right state only by offering time, money or devotion to the belief
system or course offered in the sales brochure or hold writings.
In fact, while fire walking is an
impressive feat, it has a perfectly rational explanation. There is no
need to achieve a heightened state of awareness, or to rely on
"mind over matter". It is however, something of a test in your
faith in physics.
Think of baking bread. It is possible to
open the oven and place your hand inside for a considerable time,
despite the fact that the oven is perhaps 200 degrees Celsius. You can
even briefly touch the bread, but you would quickly learn that it was a
mistake if you were to touch the metal or ceramic container that the
bread was in.
The difference comes from the ability of
various substances to conduct, or transfer heat. Air is a very poor
conductor of heat. Bread is better, but not as good as metal which
conducts heat with great efficiency.
Wood does not conduct heat particularly
well. The average human foot will happily be in contact with a glowing
wood coal for about a second before sufficient heat is transferred to
burn the flesh. The average step takes about half a second so for most
people, so it is possible to take two steps with each foot before a
dangerous amount of heat has built up.
In fact the name "fire walking"
is a misnomer. No one can walk on fire. It is possible to walk only on
hot coals, without flames being present.
Keep
in mind though that fire walking is not inherently safe. These coals are
hot – perhaps 500
degrees Celsius – and they are dangerous. It is not at all uncommon
for people to be burned by the coals and painful blisters are the
result. Even sceptics do not suggest that anyone undertake a fire walk
without the help of someone experienced in the activity.
Cheers
David 'magic feet' Gregory |
Over a hundred people were expected
to walk across 20 feet of burning coals during this fire walking experience.