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Unread 02-25-2010, 02:29 PM   #9
Sithdarth
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Join Date: Mar 2004
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Sithdarth is like Reed Richards, but prettier. Sithdarth is like Reed Richards, but prettier. Sithdarth is like Reed Richards, but prettier. Sithdarth is like Reed Richards, but prettier. Sithdarth is like Reed Richards, but prettier. Sithdarth is like Reed Richards, but prettier. Sithdarth is like Reed Richards, but prettier.
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Water at only 140 F can give you a full thickness burn in about 10 seconds. Just because your water stopped boiling doesn't mean its still not close to 200 F which is more than enough for burns. Burns from liquids tend to go deeper and be over a larger area than dry burns. If you think about it even though that pot full of water is only around 200 F it took a lot of fire that was much hotter than that to get it there. Water soaks up a lot of thermal energy and its the amount of energy delivered that determines the burn not the temperature. Really the only thing temperature does is make the burn happen faster. A small flame may be hot but it doesn't have enough thermal energy for significant burns. You end up with very quick superficial burns and pain unless you hold the flame to your skin for awhile. With near boiling water you get the double whammy of a lot of thermal energy and the fact that water tends to stick to you and seep into your clothes. Its a bit like dosing yourself in gasoline and lighting it on fire.
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