A Vedanta Q&A I was just listening to mentions a swami that lived in the Himalayas that would climb into a coffin to stay warm when he was too cold. I thought to myself that there was no heat source, so his body must have generated enough heat to impact the ambient air temperature in the coffin. That lead me to this question:
How much does heat generated by the body impact the ambient temperature of a small enclosure such as a coffin? And yes, I understand the insulation value of the area would impact the ability for the enclosure to retain any heat the body produces, so let's just say a typical coffin that has the lining you would find for sale in a typical mortuary.
How cold could it get outside the coffin where you could generate enough stabilized heat while lying inactive to prevent hypothermia from setting in? Or would the temperature continue to drop at a steady pace as the ambient air temperature equalized?
How much does heat generated by the body impact the ambient temperature of a small enclosure such as a coffin? And yes, I understand the insulation value of the area would impact the ability for the enclosure to retain any heat the body produces, so let's just say a typical coffin that has the lining you would find for sale in a typical mortuary.
How cold could it get outside the coffin where you could generate enough stabilized heat while lying inactive to prevent hypothermia from setting in? Or would the temperature continue to drop at a steady pace as the ambient air temperature equalized?
