Spontaneous Human Combustion

[Wisp]

There's is always the slightest possibility of an electron splitting an atom in your body causing a micro-nuclear explosion. Sounds like a good way to die.

 

 

 

Heh' yeah, and I can walk through walls and make a killing on the roulette wheel.

 

There's always that chance.

[i_love_burritos]

There's is always the slightest possibility of an electron splitting an atom in your body causing a micro-nuclear explosion. Sounds like a good way to die.

 

 

 

Heh' yeah, and I can walk through walls and make a killing on the roulette wheel.

 

There's always that chance.

 

 

 

So small it might aswell not happened.

 

 

 

But you are right, there is always that chance.

 

 

 

What that chance is, I don't know.

 

 

 

Hey !

 

 

 

Its fun to talk in platitudes.

[compfreak847]

There's is always the slightest possibility of an electron splitting an atom in your body causing a micro-nuclear explosion. Sounds like a good way to die.

 

How would one atom splitting do anything? There's no element found in the body that's reactive enough to start the chain splitting reaction of a nuclear explosion. You'd have one atom go pop, and that's about it..

[Wongtong]

Do the math: if it has happened to 200 people in history, and there is 6 billion people on earth, the chances of it happening to you are around 1 in 30 million. You are substantially more likley to die from a falling coconut (around 75 deaths per year)

 

And that's noly 200 cases in all of recorded history. Think of how many people there have been in recorded history.

 

 

 

But yea, it's a far more awesome version of the lottery. I'd love to go that way.

 

Wikipedia says:

 

There are about 200 cited cases worldwide over a period of around 300 years

[sohkmj1]

Do the math: if it has happened to 200 people in history, and there is 6 billion people on earth, the chances of it happening to you are around 1 in 30 million. You are substantially more likley to die from a falling coconut (around 75 deaths per year)

 

And that's noly 200 cases in all of recorded history. Think of how many people there have been in recorded history.

 

 

 

But yea, it's a far more awesome version of the lottery. I'd love to go that way.

 

Wikipedia says:

 

There are about 200 cited cases worldwide over a period of around 300 years

 

It's so useless, I've highlighted it THRICE.

 

 

 

On topic: SHC is so rare, think of it as striking the lottery if you do get pwnt by it. You will be a legend.

[Perakp]

I want to become a fossil when I'm old. So I can be of some use to the future scientist or fossil fuel users.

[Zonorhc]

It would be a cool way to die.

 

Or a hot way to die, amirite?

[Lenin64]

There's is always the slightest possibility of an electron splitting an atom in your body causing a micro-nuclear explosion. Sounds like a good way to die.

 

How would one atom splitting do anything? There's no element found in the body that's reactive enough to start the chain splitting reaction of a nuclear explosion. You'd have one atom go pop, and that's about it..

 

It's actually quarks flipping and breaking the triplet bond, and that starting a chain reaction. I forget exactly how that works, though.

[ThurinEthir]

There's is always the slightest possibility of an electron splitting an atom in your body causing a micro-nuclear explosion. Sounds like a good way to die.

 

How would one atom splitting do anything? There's no element found in the body that's reactive enough to start the chain splitting reaction of a nuclear explosion. You'd have one atom go pop, and that's about it..

 

What if you eat uranium for breakfast?

[dsavi]

What if you had an uncle whose possessions consisted of two inside-out umbrellas from Mars?

[Faitality]

 

 

 

I'm not sure whether or not this could happen or not. It's possible.

[Georgelemmons]

There's greater chance of your pants exploding than you.

 

 

 

Sodium chlorate-using farmers + pants = bad.

[halo2_rocks7]

Do the math: if it has happened to 200 people in history, and there is 6 billion people on earth, the chances of it happening to you are around 1 in 30 million. You are substantially more likley to die from a falling coconut (around 75 deaths per year)

 

Wrong. Not everyone has access to Coconut trees, so you have to take into account the amount of people who have access to Coconut trees. So there's more of a chance to die from falling Coconuts then to self-combust.

[Kiriyama]

Do the math: if it has happened to 200 people in history, and there is 6 billion people on earth, the chances of it happening to you are around 1 in 30 million. You are substantially more likley to die from a falling coconut (around 75 deaths per year)

 

Wrong. Not everyone has access to Coconut trees, so you have to take into account the amount of people who have access to Coconut trees. So there's more of a chance to die from falling Coconuts then to self-combust.

 

 

 

Also, since it was over a period of time, we have to factor in those who died aswell. Making it perhaps higher?

[Riku3220]

Quite honestly, if you believe in spontaneous combustion, you're an idiot. There's nice nice way to put it.

 

Learn to have fun.

 

 

 

Careful guys pyromancers are on the loose. :uhh:

[Rebdragon]

There's is always the slightest possibility of an electron splitting an atom in your body causing a micro-nuclear explosion. Sounds like a good way to die.

 

How would one atom splitting do anything? There's no element found in the body that's reactive enough to start the chain splitting reaction of a nuclear explosion. You'd have one atom go pop, and that's about it..

 

It's actually quarks flipping and breaking the triplet bond, and that starting a chain reaction. I forget exactly how that works, though.

 

Anything above Bismuth either degrade or go boom-boom. I'm pretty sure Iron is about as high as bodily elements go, spare Iodine.

 

 

 

As a refresher, the whole nuke thing is just a chain reaction started by launching a neutron into a Uranium 235 atom (rare, like 1% of Uranium is this iso), which splits and releases three neutrons, which split more and etc etc...

 

 

 

BOOM.

 

 

 

EDIT: What's this "quark flipping" business? I've never heard of that, and with Conservation of Charge I don't see how neutrons could turn into protons or vice versa, nor do I see how a nuclear reaction could break a bond within a hadron. The strong force is far too powerful.

 

 

 

Quite honestly, if you believe in spontaneous combustion, you're an idiot. There's nice nice way to put it.

 

Learn to have fun.

 

If being a moron is your idea of fun then you are not very classy my friend.

[Laura]

As a refresher, the whole nuke thing is just a chain reaction started by launching a neutron into a Uranium 235 atom (rare, like 1% of Uranium is this iso), which splits and releases three neutrons, which split more and etc etc...

 

It should be, theoretically, possible with all elements as well, save hydrogen.

[Dizzle229]

Isn't methane flammable? Still, I can't think of a source of ignition for that.

[Giordano]

Isn't methane flammable? Still, I can't think of a source of ignition for that.

 

I suppose you could eat a whole lot of beans to produce the methane gas, then eat some flaming hot chili peppers and hope it doesn't digest properly.

[deathdrow]

I read the title, and was like, dam saif is unbanned.

[Nekyia]

I did a big project on this when I was younger and supposedly there's different types of it, and I actually think one of them happened to me when I was in grade 6. I remember sitting in class once and then some random smoke just like floated up from me. It freaked me out though, because I had no idea where it came from, still don't. So my only explanation for it, is that is was the one kind of SHC. :

[Rebdragon]

As a refresher, the whole nuke thing is just a chain reaction started by launching a neutron into a Uranium 235 atom (rare, like 1% of Uranium is this iso), which splits and releases three neutrons, which split more and etc etc...

 

It should be, theoretically, possible with all elements as well, save hydrogen.

 

Spontaneous fission is only theoretically possible with elements of atomic mass 100 u or greater, and only energetically feasible for atomic masses above 230 u.

 

 

 

So only Iodine even has the physical possibility of spontaneously blowing up, and it's only a fraction of a fraction of one percent of the human body by mass, on the order of micrograms. Even with that small amount, the amount of energy required for total fission to happen is absurd. In fact, if you could actually get enough energy to fissure enough Iodine to actually kill a person, the energy used to initiate the fission would probably kill the person first.

 

 

 

So no.

 

 

 

And on a side note, I found where Iodine is found: the thyroid and parathyroid glands.

[Harakiri]

I heard some guy was talking to his Grandpa and then BOOM!

 

 

 

I think it's wierd, you would have to have serious heartburn to spontaneously combust.

[brunokiller]

Discovery channel says no.

 

 

 

Discovery channel doesn't lie.

 

 

 

Though my friend said it might be possible if your nerve signals jump bad or whatever (what's the disease where you have no myelin sheath?) and ignites the gasses in your body.

 

 

 

Loads of nerves don't have myeline sheaths, especially in the brain. Nerves work by a different amount of Na+ and K+ outside and inside of the nerve. When a signal arrives, gates open and the Na+ and K+ ions will mix. This change will activate other gats, etc till you reach the end of the line.

 

 

 

It definately doesn't spark :roll:

 

 

 

As a refresher, the whole nuke thing is just a chain reaction started by launching a neutron into a Uranium 235 atom (rare, like 1% of Uranium is this iso), which splits and releases three neutrons, which split more and etc etc...

 

It should be, theoretically, possible with all elements as well, save hydrogen.

 

 

 

Splitting atoms with a mass below Lead actually costs energy :P To keep a nuclear reaction going, at least one of the neutrons has to hit another Uranium atom. With all the mass in your body, (if Uranium is even present there), any neutrons will be caught by other atoms( especially nitrogen, oxygen and hydrogen). That is also why you need to purify uranium for nuclear uses. If you don't, the Uranium-238 atoms will just absorb all the neutrons and your reaction will die out immediately.

[EdgedThesis]

This would go well under the 'Epic Chemical Reactions' thread.