What is the most comprehensive scientific explanation for the occurence of spontaneous human combustion?
145763
Linmar--i want to propose MY personal theory, which cannot be scientifically proven in any publication to date.  I had a vision one evening after watching a show about spontaneous combustion victims.  One victim was a middle-aged man with a stump for an arm.  He described the event as a mild tingling with no pain, and much to his dismay, his hand and most of his forearm turned to ash.  \n\nUsing his experience, this isn't about fat burning, or too much oxygen, or even about oxidation as we know it.  The material in our bodies has stored chemical potential energy.  We have internal heat generation which keeps our bodies warm.  It is like a clock spring slowly unwinding.\n\nNOW, if you sped up this clock, relative to normal time-space, your energy would dissipate so rapidly, that the object WOULD turn to ash due to the release of heat.  If a human arm dissipates 10 watts every second for the lifetime of the arm, say 70 years, that equals 22*10^9 joules.  THAT"S A LOT OF ENERGY.  Now for instance, if for some reason a time-space continuum intersected with the man, if his arm actually was accidentally inserted into another dimension whose time constant was 100 times our speed, his arm simply aged and died.  All the energy that would have unwound in this time space over the course of 70 years, unwound in minutes or seconds.  If there are time-space defects and other dimensions, it makes sense that entropy may not unwind at the same pace in all spaces.  \n\nIt reminds me that the earth is travelling at thousands of miles per hour through space.  We have no perception of this at all.  But put a cosmic bed post by the earth, and have an impact, BAM!! Bye-bye earth.  I think it is the same thing.  For some unlucky reason, I beleive this particular man had an interdimensional event wherein the potential energy in his arm dissipated very quickly in that other dimension.  \n\nFood for thought--tell me whatchya think.
762171
It has to do with where the balance of the gasses give the highest rate of combustion. The oxidizing part of the flame has excess oxygen in relation to fuel. That means the oxygen in excess is not reacting with fuel to produce heat. In the reducing part of the flame there is excess_____ ..... and you should be able to figure out the rest.\n\nAn extra hint: the actual hottest part of the flame is where the most O2 can find the most fuel,  if there is to much O2 in the mixture it will not burn, same as if there is not enough O2(to much fuel).
1029391
The answer to your question is both.\n\nMan made:\n\n ~exhaust fumes from cars, factories\n ~aerosols\n ~CFCs\n\nNature\n\n ~clouds\n ~volcanic eruptions\n\n\nyeah, so nature is actually suffering a lot already, and then man comes in to add fuel to the fire.
237654
That is hilarious.It must have been a gomerment experiment where someone was fed a gas and ignited with a laser.It is funny,.
798111
Combustion or burning is a complex sequence of chemical reactions between a fuel and an oxidant accompanied by the production of heat or both heat and light in the form of either a glow or flames.\n\nIn a complete combustion reaction, a compound reacts with an oxidizing element, and the products are compounds of each element in the fuel with the oxidizing element.
53219
A forest fire is an uncontrolled fire often occurring in wildland areas, but which can also consume houses or agricultural resources. \n\nCauses\n\nCommon causes include lightning, human carelessness, arson and primitive soil preparation techniques. \n\nEffects\n\nSatellite observation of smoke plumes from wildfires revealed that the plumes could be traced intact for distances exceeding 5,000 kilometers. This observation suggests that the plumes were in the stratosphere above weather conditions that would have brought the plume back to earth.\nAtmospheric models suggest that these concentrations of sooty particles could increase absorption of incoming solar radiation during winter months by as much as 15%.\nAlso, annual and intensive use of fire to prepare the soil in many parts of the world has contributed to desertification.
758386
Assuming there is oxygen present, in any direction. Most likely the direction which presents the input of oxygen i believe. Some great pictures on the NASA website linked below. There have been some controlled experiments for combustion done on Space Shuttles.
1141761
Apparently, they don't combust spontaneously. They just, sort of, smolder to ashes. \n\nThey're usually unconscious people whose clothing catches fire from a nearby heat source and then the fats in their bodies smolder until there's not much left of them.
771844
A\n\nVolcanic explosions such as St. Helen's are cause by super heat gases.  Often Steam.
329578
Fire isn't an element. It's a chemical reaction, or more precisely, a combustion reaction. A combustion reaction occurs when there is sufficient heat, fuel, and oxygen. The reaction is this:\n\nthing you're burning + O2 --> CO2 + H2O + other elements
465006
Fire is not matter. The combustible material is a 'solid' like  wood, but can be a 'liquid' like gasoline. The wood combusts, releasing 'gases' such as Carbon Monoxide and solids such as ash particulates. The "fire" is the energy released in the form of heat and light. That's my simple explanation.
254778
Assuming you are not refering to Johnny Storm from the fantastic four. I believe it impossible for any story of spontaneous combustion of a human to be true.\n\nCheck out this link for some pretty good info on the subject:\n\nhttp://www.csicop.org/si/9803/shc.html
542299
burning occurs usually due to fire.,whereas scalding occurs due to hot liquids.
153176
A rapid, persistent chemical change that releases heat and light and is accompanied by flame, especially the exothermic oxidation of a combustible substance.\nAn oxidising reaction takes place which gives off light and heat to form a flame. The burning process converts oxygen and other substances into a mixture of gases, water vapour and small solid particles which we call smoke. The gases are mostly carbon dioxide - C02 and carbon monoxide - CO.\nThe smoke particles, or soot, are mostly unburned carbon (C). If you hold a polished metal spoon above a candle flame it will become stained with soot. Smoke contains water vapour which is produced when the hydrogen from the candle wax combines with oxygen in the air.
931030
That should only happen with copper or copper salts.\nIt's the oxidation of the copper in the flame.\nAll elements burn differently, this is the basis of how a spectrometer works.
195490
yes. ive seen it on google video. and people go to the hospital for things lie that. its becuase of the mehtane produced, which s very flammable. that is why sometimes garbage dumps start on fire.
771135
There is ENERGY because there is HEAT released during combustion.\n\nIts the Chemical Reaction Process when burning a compound of wax.\n\nThe chemical reaction breaks this compound and turns it into simpler or more complex compounds depending on the application.