Post by nathanechiverri on Oct 31, 2015 5:42:15 GMT
THE PARANORMAL (Understanding the Strange)
Events that are termed as paranormal are phenomena that are beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Examples of well-known paranormal beliefs include extraterrestrial life, psychic abilities, ghosts, and extrasensory perception (Farha 42). They are described in popular culture and non-scientific sources as being beyond scientific explanation. The difference between a hypothetical concept and a paranormal event is that hypothetical concepts are based on experimental data obtained through scientific procedures and empirical observations. Other examples of situations that could be labeled as being paranormal include walking on pieces of shattered glass barefoot, dipping one’s hand in lead that has been melted, crushing a block of concrete over a person lying in between two beds that are made of nails and handling an extremely hot tile by the hand. Although these situations may seem paranormal, there is a logical explanation behind them.
The phenomena of dipping one’s fingers in molten lead and not getting burnt can be termed as paranormal. This is because molten lead has a temperature that is very high and, therefore, capable of severely injuring a person who tries to handle it with their fingers. Although the performance of this trick is visually astonishing and may seem beyond scientific explanation, there is a completely logical explanation for it. According to Willey, before the hand is dipped in the molten lead, the person first dips his/her hand in the water. After this, drops of water that are on the hand are shaken off before the person dips his/her hand quickly in and out of the molten lead. The heat from the lead will evaporate the water on the person’s hand rather than burning the hand. As the water on the person’s hand is evaporated, the resulting steam acts as an insulating layer between the heat from the molten lead and the skin of the hand.
If the total surface area of a person’s hand were about a hundred square centimeters, then a layer of water that is just 0.1mm thick would need 2600 joules of heat to warm it up to 100 degrees Celsius (Willey). What this means is that even if the lead were to be cooled by 200 degrees Celsius, then the amount of lead to be cooled would have to be 100 grams. This translates to about a millimeter thick layer of molten lead. Another important fact is that the specific heat capacity of lead is relatively small when compared to that of water. In this experiment, to prevent the lead from solidifying on the demonstrator’s fingers, the molten lead has to be heated by a substantial margin above its melting point. The melting point of lead is about 325.7 degrees Celsius. Therefore, the right temperature for the lead would have to be 200 degrees hotter (Willey). At this temperature, the lead will have a gold colored film on its surface. To prevent lead from getting beneath the fingernails, it is advisable that the demonstrator keeps the fingernails well-trimmed. Impurities that appear in the lead should be removed using a spoon that is fastened to a wooden handleIn conclusion, it is quite clear from the explanations in the preceding paragraphs that phenomena that may appear as paranormal may have scientific and logical explanations. Even though these events may be visually astonishing, they could be a trick that cleverly applies scientific procedures.
Works Cited
Farha, Bryan. Paranormal Claims: A Critical Analysis. Lanham: UP of America, 2007. Print.
Willey, David G. "The Physics Behind Four Amazing Demonstrations." CSI. N.p., Nov. 1999. Web. 18 Oct. 2015.
Events that are termed as paranormal are phenomena that are beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Examples of well-known paranormal beliefs include extraterrestrial life, psychic abilities, ghosts, and extrasensory perception (Farha 42). They are described in popular culture and non-scientific sources as being beyond scientific explanation. The difference between a hypothetical concept and a paranormal event is that hypothetical concepts are based on experimental data obtained through scientific procedures and empirical observations. Other examples of situations that could be labeled as being paranormal include walking on pieces of shattered glass barefoot, dipping one’s hand in lead that has been melted, crushing a block of concrete over a person lying in between two beds that are made of nails and handling an extremely hot tile by the hand. Although these situations may seem paranormal, there is a logical explanation behind them.
The phenomena of dipping one’s fingers in molten lead and not getting burnt can be termed as paranormal. This is because molten lead has a temperature that is very high and, therefore, capable of severely injuring a person who tries to handle it with their fingers. Although the performance of this trick is visually astonishing and may seem beyond scientific explanation, there is a completely logical explanation for it. According to Willey, before the hand is dipped in the molten lead, the person first dips his/her hand in the water. After this, drops of water that are on the hand are shaken off before the person dips his/her hand quickly in and out of the molten lead. The heat from the lead will evaporate the water on the person’s hand rather than burning the hand. As the water on the person’s hand is evaporated, the resulting steam acts as an insulating layer between the heat from the molten lead and the skin of the hand.
If the total surface area of a person’s hand were about a hundred square centimeters, then a layer of water that is just 0.1mm thick would need 2600 joules of heat to warm it up to 100 degrees Celsius (Willey). What this means is that even if the lead were to be cooled by 200 degrees Celsius, then the amount of lead to be cooled would have to be 100 grams. This translates to about a millimeter thick layer of molten lead. Another important fact is that the specific heat capacity of lead is relatively small when compared to that of water. In this experiment, to prevent the lead from solidifying on the demonstrator’s fingers, the molten lead has to be heated by a substantial margin above its melting point. The melting point of lead is about 325.7 degrees Celsius. Therefore, the right temperature for the lead would have to be 200 degrees hotter (Willey). At this temperature, the lead will have a gold colored film on its surface. To prevent lead from getting beneath the fingernails, it is advisable that the demonstrator keeps the fingernails well-trimmed. Impurities that appear in the lead should be removed using a spoon that is fastened to a wooden handleIn conclusion, it is quite clear from the explanations in the preceding paragraphs that phenomena that may appear as paranormal may have scientific and logical explanations. Even though these events may be visually astonishing, they could be a trick that cleverly applies scientific procedures.
Works Cited
Farha, Bryan. Paranormal Claims: A Critical Analysis. Lanham: UP of America, 2007. Print.
Willey, David G. "The Physics Behind Four Amazing Demonstrations." CSI. N.p., Nov. 1999. Web. 18 Oct. 2015.