Spontaneous Human Combustion (SHC) is Not Possible

 

On Monday, October 7, 2024, I wrote a list of unexplained mysteries in this world here:

https://scientificlogic.blogspot.com/?zx=2ac571524d4f9c84

In that article there was one on spontaneous human combustion (SHC). I thought in the case of spontaneous human combustion logically how could a human body suddenly ignite and burst into flames be possible when the human body contains so much water. In other words, how could it suddenly burst in flame when it is so “wet”? Let me logically and scientifically explain why this phenomenon is not possible.

The specific heat capacity of water is 4.184 kilojoules. This is the heat required to raise the temperature of 1 kg of water from room temperature by 1 degree Celsius. About 60 % of an average 70 kg human body is water, mainly from the blood, lymph, other biological and cellular fluids. This means that an average adult human body contains about 42 litres of water.

In other words, if a man whose normal body temperature at 37 ⁰ C, and weighs 70 kg, containing about 42 litres of water, it would require:

 (100 ⁰ - 37 ⁰ C) = 63 degrees Celsius x 42 litres of water in the human body x 4.184 kilojoules (heat capacity) = 11,070.9 kilojoules. This is just to heat the body temperature up to boiling point. Bringing the body to boiling point is not the end. The body is still wet at 100 degrees Celsius. We need now to boil off the fluid (water) at 100 ⁰ C in the body.

In order to bring the water in the body at 100 degree C to boil off takes another set of heat called the heat of vaporization. The heat of vaporization of water is about 2,257 kJ/kg, which is equal to 40.66 kJ/mol.

Thus the amount of heat needed to boil off 42 litres of water (blood and biological fluid) at 100 ⁰ C in a 70 kg body is 2,257 kilojoules / kg x 42 litres = 94,794 kilojoules. This is just to boil off all the water in a human body until it is completely dry before it can start to burn. Add this on to the 11,070,9 Joules (kilojoules) that were needed to raise the body temperature at 37 degrees C to 100 degrees C.

The total amount of heat required is: 11,070.9 + 94,794 = 105,864.9 kilojoules or 25,302 kilocalories of heat needed to completely dry up the body first before it can start to burn. This is a tremendous amount of heat required.  

The body is mostly water, and water’s high heat capacity makes it difficult to rapidly raise the body’s temperature to combustion levels without a substantial external heat source. In order for a human body to burn up there must be an external source of energy.  

In reported SHC cases, there is no clear mechanism how the body could produce the enormous amount of energy internally required. Without an external heat source or prolonged exposure to high temperatures (like in cremation), it’s scientifically implausible for a human body to reach the point of spontaneous combustion.

Even if the body somehow reached the necessary temperature to ignite fat and tissue, the presence of water would prevent efficient combustion. The body would need to be almost completely dried out for it to burn.

It is of course possible for a human body to burn up, but the heat must be intense and prolonged coming from an outside source such as during the cremation of the body or in a house fire. In cremation, the body is exposed to temperatures between 760°C to 1,150°C for hours, which drives off water and facilitates combustion. How could the human body spontaneously burst into flame on its own especially if it is full of blood, fluid and water inside?

The only way we can explain is to use the Wick Effect Hypothesis.  Some theories suggest that SHC could be a misinterpretation of the “wick effect,” where an external ignition source (like a cigarette) ignites the clothing or nearby material, and body fat acts as fuel. The clothing acts as a wick, slowly burning over time, but even this explanation does not involve spontaneous internal combustion.

The same as with the mystery of human levitation. How could the human body begin to rise on its own against gravity without an external power? As for human levitation, the principle contradicts basic physics, particularly Newton’s laws of motion and the law of gravity. Levitation would require a force counteracting gravity, and without an external force (like mechanical lifting or air pressure), there is no physical mechanism that can naturally overcome the gravitational pull acting on the mass of a human body.

Levitation claims are often explained by:

1. Optical or trickery (e.g., magicians using hidden supports).

2. Psychological factors like mass suggestion or hypnotic states.

3. Balance techniques that appear to defy gravity but are based on positioning or hidden support mechanisms.

My conclusion is:

1.  Spontaneous human combustion is not possible, given the body's water content and the energy required to reach combustion temperatures, is scientifically implausible without an external source of intense heat.

2.  Human levitation, without an external force, violates the known laws of physics and can typically be explained by illusions or hidden mechanisms.

The concept of spontaneous human combustion is indeed scientifically unsound based on what we understand about thermodynamics and human biology. The sheer amount of energy required makes it highly unlikely for the body to ignite on its own without external sources of heat.

Both phenomena are fascinating mysteries but, upon scientific analysis, do not hold up to physical laws.

The most confounding of all mysteries is not any of those I have briefly wrote earlier. The most bewildering of them all is the origin, existence and the purpose of life in this world for which I shall soon be writing at good length for us to think over.