Spontaneous Human Combustion :: essays research papers

For as yet scientifically unknown reasons, times occur when an unsuspicious person can just burst into flames and be incinerated. This is referred to in the scientific world as Spontaneous Human Combustion or SHC. in that respect are many documented cases throughout history.The earliest cases go as far back as the early sixteenth century. Then there are the ones that are as recent as 1998 but involve no better explanation of what happen then the ones in the 16th century did. There are truly only two graphic symbols of cases disgraceful and non- dim. The fatal cases of SHC represent three-quarters of all the reported incidents. The or so common of these cases is the notable "bedroom burnings" in which a dupe is found as a pile of ashes with only limbs remaining. These burnings a characterized by five main features1) The victims luggage compartment and clo affaire is roughlyly reduced to ash.2) Small portions of the body (an arm, a foot, maybe the head) remain unburne d.3) Only objects immediately associated with the body go burned the fire never spread away from the body.4) A fulsome soot deposit covers the ceiling and walls, usually stopping three to 4 feet above the floor.5) Objects above this three to four foot line translate signs of heat damage (melted candles, cracked mirrors, etc.) objects below this line show o damage.     These cases are the ones that mass media tend to cover most and is what most raft think of when they hear about spontaneous human combustion. Nearly half(a) of the cases are "bedroom burnings"     An some other common case under the fatal category are the witnessed combustions, in which people are actually seen by witnesses to burst into flames. Most of the time witnesses claim that there was no other source of ignition and/or the flames were seen to come directly from the victims skin. These cases present the fact that maybe SHC has more to do with the supernatural than science. Unfortunately, most of theses cases are poorly documented and usually unconfirmed.     The second major type of SHC is the non-fatal cases. The victims usually dont know anymore than the investigators do. The good thing about this is that the victims are alive to tell about what happened and cause most SHC skeptics to take a look at the picture again.     Non-fatal cases usually desegregate one or more of the following features. The most common is the swarthy flames. This is where a victim will just begin to emit flames spring their body.