The Most Mysterious of Human Feats: Walking on The Red-Hot Coals
A burning question: Can science explain the mystery of the fire walk?…All over the world, from Japan to Sri Lanka, Spain to Bora Bora, fire walking has been a high point of intense religious ritual. The mystery has always been how the human bodies can with-stand the high temperature involved, how fire walkers emerge unscathed from the burning pit with no apparent sensation of pain.
The Most Mysterious of Human Feats: Walking on the Red-Hot Coals
On April 14, 1985, about a thousand people gathered at the California Institute of Technology sports field in Pasadena to see a demonstration of one of the most mysterious of human feats: walking on red-hot coals. By the end of the afternoon 125 of the audience had themselves walked through a pit of fire with a temperature that reached 1,400°F.
None had any special training or preparation for the event. None had been hypnotized, and none were in a state of religious or mystical ecstasy. They were just ordinary people.
Traditionally, matters have been rather different at fire walks. All over the world, from Japan to Sri Lanka, Spain to Bora Bora, fire walking has been a high point of intense religious ritual. The mystery has always been how the human bodies can with-stand the high temperature involved, how fire walkers emerge unscathed from the burning pit with no apparent sensation of pain.
Mind over Matter?
The usual explanation has been that the powerful rituals preceding the fire walk and the unshakable religious beliefs of the participants have somehow created the condition for mind to control matter. In this case the matter is human flesh, which the mind makes fireproof.
Citing this premise, a number of self-help groups in the United States and in Europe have proclaimed that they can train people to have total mental control of body.
The results, they claim, include the ability to defeat cancer without drugs, to cure impotence, defeat depression, or restore failing eyesight. Their proof that such miracles are possible? That people have been seen to gain such remarkable mental control that they can walk over coals unharmed.
Strangely enough, it was to disprove such claims that two University of California scientists, Dr. Bernard Leikind, a plasma physicist, and Dr. William McCarthy, a psychologist, had arranged the demonstration at the sport field in Pasadena. They said that anyone can fire walk, and that paranormal powers have nothing to do with it.
The Energy Question
Leikind believes that the secret of fire walking lies in the difference between the temperature of the hot coals and the amount of heat, or thermal energy, they contain.
He explains this crucial difference by pointing out that if you put your hand into a hot oven, the air inside does not burn you. But a cake pan in the same oven will burn you at once. Both are at the same temperature, but they contain different amounts of thermal energy.
Leikind insists that the coal used in the fire walks are more like the hot air in the oven than like the cake pan. They simply do not contain enough thermal energy to burn the soles of the feet in the short time it takes to walk the length of the pit. He points out, too, that fire walkers frequently perform with wet feet; the dampness acts as an extra insulation against burns.
Untouched by Fire: A Balinese dancer performs a ritual fire walk while in a trance.
Not everyone, however, is convinced by this explanation. Commentators have pointed out that, like the self-help groups and the priests at religious rituals, Leikind first persuaded his audience in California that walking on fire was easy.
Although he used the language of science, whereas others have used psychological and emotional terms, he was still aiming to introduce a “fireproof” mentality in his audience. Leikind may have succeeded in a way that he did not intend.
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User Comments
Dr Robert Brignall
On October 31, 2009 at 8:27 pm
Fascinating stuff. Good piece too, the prose seems to dance among the stunning photos like feet over coals.
nobert soloria bermosa
On October 31, 2009 at 8:43 pm
im still fascinated with this and would like to try it myself one day
Teves
On October 31, 2009 at 9:15 pm
Ouch….that is dangerous!
Shirley Shuler
On October 31, 2009 at 10:30 pm
Excellent article, it’s just so unbelievable!
martinpm
On October 31, 2009 at 11:04 pm
Great piece of work as always. well done my friend.
ken bultman
On November 1, 2009 at 1:00 am
Interesting to read. I go with the scientists.
Monica Sappleton
On November 1, 2009 at 1:06 am
A very incredibly interesting write.
Monica.
Unofre Pili
On November 1, 2009 at 3:08 am
Wonderful and so well-crafted article Mr. Ghaz, but just want to add something that might help…
The heat – thermal energy in transit – of a substance is directly proportional to its mass. Here people walked on a sizable dump of red-hot coal, thus a good amount of total mass, enabling it to generate a good amount of heat. Hence, those coal embers are seriously hot. However, coals are poor conductors of heat, or to put it simply it takes greater time for it to be able transfer its thermal energy to another body directly in contact with it ( grabbing a 75 F piece of wood is totally a different story grabbing a 75 F piece of steel), allowing people to walk on it in a limited time. And a dampen feet further extends the staying time since the thermal energy went into increasing the temperature of the liquid first and eventually drying it, instead of being directly absorb by the flesh. Only if the walkers can stay for an hour then this activity is mysterious.
oeillade
On November 1, 2009 at 4:36 am
Very interesting, really enjoyed this
Christine Ramsay
On November 1, 2009 at 8:13 am
A wonderful article but it does tempt me to try it. Good work.
Christine
martie
On November 1, 2009 at 10:56 am
great article, but I am still not about to walk on hot coals. The scientists may have convinced some people, but I am pure chicken when it comes to pain.
Darla Smith
On November 1, 2009 at 11:32 am
Interesting article. I don’t think I’d ever want to try that.
Idazalee
On November 1, 2009 at 12:20 pm
Nice one..very interesting article..walking on the hot-coal!!..forget it!..even I’ve got a chance to do it..lol.. thanks a lot my friend
Amry
On November 1, 2009 at 12:31 pm
another great and well presented article..well done Mr Ghaz..I liked this one..fascinated too..Thanks for sharing. Stumbled.
Phill Senters
On November 1, 2009 at 1:05 pm
Another great article Mr G. A very interesting subject, but something I wouldn’t care to try.
richard wing
On November 1, 2009 at 1:25 pm
The heat that radiates from the fire pits are extremely hot. No way can it be explained by science. I’m not sure what the explanation is but it is extraordinary and intriguing. Interesting article for sure. Thumbs up piece!
Mystify
On November 1, 2009 at 5:15 pm
I have always wondered about this! Fantastic article Mr Ghaz,it was informative well presented and well written as always but it was also very, very interesting. I think it really is mind over matter when concerning this!
Susan
On November 1, 2009 at 5:15 pm
Excellent article. You did not mention whether Leikind walked on the coals.
Lostash
On November 1, 2009 at 5:55 pm
I’m sure the explanation is scientific and not mystical in the slightest. Do I want to put that to the test? Hell no!!
James DeVere
On November 1, 2009 at 9:09 pm
I guess it simply hasn’t been properly explained. Things that were once magical – like flying – are now easily told.
The good professor has gone a long way in banishing mystical thinking.
Thank-you, Mr. Ghaz . j
STEVE666
On November 2, 2009 at 1:23 pm
Interesting write, Mr Ghaz. I’d love to try it.
revivor
On November 2, 2009 at 7:21 pm
amazing – I always wondered what happened at these events
wanjiku
On November 2, 2009 at 8:49 pm
Interesting information. I personally would not attempt it, LOL.
T S GARP
On November 6, 2009 at 4:54 pm
Very interesting, we all need to be more “fireproof”!
CutestPrincess
On November 20, 2009 at 12:28 pm
amazing…. wish i can do that, too…
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