The title of this blog is Spontaneously Combustible Beauty — so I thought I would take it upon myself to find out how exactly spontaneous human combustion works.
Spontaneous combustion occurs when an object (or in this case a human) suddenly bursts into flames with no ignition by an outside heat source. Reports of bodies that have experienced spontaneous human combustion all share similar features — the victim is almost always in his/her home, coroners notice a sweet, smoky smell, the room around the person shows no sign of fire or char, and the victims’ extremities often remain intact although the torso and head are charred beyond recognition. Some people actually survive their combustion and show only burns on their body or emanate smoke.
There are several theories behind why spontaneous combustion occurs:
1) Methane produced in the intestines builds up and is ignited by enzymes, resulting in a fire. But because most victims experience more damage to the outside of their torso than the inside (some victims have been found with their internal organs still intact), this theory is not widely accepted.
2) Static electricity builds up inside the body as a result of an external geomagnetic force. A subatomic particle called pyroton is thought by some to interact with cells to create a mini-explosion. But since so scientific evidence has been found to support this, it is not widely accepted either.
Scientists have a different take on things. They pose the wick effect as a possible explanation. Imagine a candle, whose wick is ignited on the inside surrounded by a wax made of flammable fatty acids. The wax ignites the wick and keeps it burning. This is similar to a human in that the body fat is the flammable substance and the person’s hair or clothing acts as the wick. As the fat melts, it soaks into the clothing and keeps the rest of the fat burning slowly. This results in the body being burned, but not the outside surroundings. Scientists think that the greasy residue left could be a result of this burning fat.
There are of course other possible explanations for this strange occurrence - such as victims being smokers and falling asleep smoking a cigarette or pipe, or being prevented from leaving the fire because of an illness or intoxication. We may never know, but it sure is interesting to think about! For some strange tales of spontaneous human combustion, check out How Stuff Works .
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