Chapter 41 Chapter 9 Cold and Heat

Hatteras and Johnson waited for the three hunters with a certain anxiety.They were very happy to be back in their warm and comfortable home.The temperature at night was extremely low, and the thermometer placed outside indicated -31°C. The men who came back were exhausted, almost frozen, and could not bear it any longer. Fortunately, the fire was very hot, and the fire was only waiting for the prey. The doctor became a cook, and roasted some seal ribs.At 9 o'clock in the evening, five companions sat at the sumptuous dinner table. "It's true," Bell said, "at the risk of being an Eskimo, by admitting that eating is a great thing during the winter; and when people catch up, it's not something to get mad about."

Everyone's mouths were too full to answer his question right away, but the doctor gestured to him that he had a point. The rib meat of the seal is declared delicious, and even if it is not said, people swallow the last piece, which is worth any words in the world. While the sweets were being eaten, the doctor prepared coffee as usual, and he let no one prepare this excellent drink; he made it on the table in an alcoholic coffee-pot, and served it piping hot.In his opinion, coffee has to scald his throat, otherwise he doesn't think it's worth passing his throat.His coffee was hot that night, and his companions could hardly do the same.

"But you will burn, doctor," Altamon told him. "No," he replied. "Do you have a copper-clad soft palate?" Johnson retorted. "Not at all, my friends, and I urge you to do as I do. Some people, and I'm one of them, drink coffee at 55°C." "55°C!" Altamon shouted, "but the hands can't bear the heat!" "Obviously, Altamon, since the hand cannot withstand temperatures above 50°C in water; but the soft palate and tongue are less sensitive than the hand, and they will resist what the hand cannot." "You surprise me," said Altamon.

"Okay, I'll convince you." The doctor took the thermometer in the living room, dipped the ball into the boiling coffee, and when the thermometer showed 55°C, he swallowed the fragrant liquid, showing a look of satisfaction. Bell bravely imitated him, hot and screaming. "Not used to it," said the doctor. "Crowburne," continued Altamon, "can you tell us the maximum temperature the human body can withstand?" "It's easy," replied the doctor, "and people have done experiments on it and come up with amazing facts. I can remember one or two incidents that show that people can get used to everything, even at the temperature at which steaks are cooked." It will be fried. If you say it, someone said that the average oven worker in Roche-for-Cours can stay in the oven for 10 minutes, and the temperature in the oven is 132 ℃, which means 32 ℃ higher than the temperature of boiling water , potatoes and meat roasting well beside them."

"Great working lady!" cried Altamon. "Also, there is an indisputable example. Nine of our countrymen, Foddis, Bankes, Solander, Cragdin, Home, North, Sir Seaforth, and Captain Philip, endured in 1774 With a high temperature of 128°C, the eggs and beef were roasted next to them." "These people are British!" said Bell, with some proud emotion. "Yes, Bell," replied the doctor. "Oh! The Americans will do better," said Altamon. "They're baked?" answered the doctor. "Why not?" the American replied. "Anyway, they haven't tried it, so I side with my countrymen. I add one last fact, almost unbelievable, if one doubts the reliability of witnesses. The Duke of Largos and Dr. Young, a French People and an Austrian saw a Turk enter a bathing pool at 78°C."

"But it seems to me," said Johnson, "that it's not like a furnace-maid, or our countrymen!" "I'm sorry," the doctor replied, "there is a big difference between hot air and hot water. Hot air causes sweating and protects the skin. Hot water can't sweat and burns. Therefore, in the bath The maximum temperature is usually 42°C, and this Turk must be an extraordinary person to be able to endure such high temperatures!" "Mr. Crowburn," Johnson asked, "what is the usual temperature of living things?" "Temperatures vary naturally," replied the doctor. "Birds are the warmest animals, and among them ducks and hens stand out; , followed by mammals, humans, and the British usually have a body temperature of 37°C."

"I'm sure Mr. Altamon has to fight for the Americans," Johnson said with a laugh. "It is true," said Altamon, "that there are people who have a high temperature, but I have never had a thermometer on their chest or under their tongue, and I cannot be sure of that." "Good!" replied the doctor, "there is very little difference between the different races, and when they are in similar circumstances, no matter what food they eat, I might even say that the body temperature of man is about the same at the equator as it is at the poles." .”

"So," said Altamon, "our own heat is the same here as it is in England?" "Almost," replied the doctor, "as for other mammals, their body temperature is generally a little higher than that of humans. The body temperature of horses is very close to that of humans, as are rabbits, elephants, porpoises, and tigers; But cats, squirrels, mice, bears, sheep, cows, dogs, monkeys, billy goats, female goats reached 39°C, and finally, the most dominant of them all was the pig, which exceeded 40°C." "It's just a disgrace to us," Altamon said. "Next are amphibians and fish, whose body temperature varies largely with water temperature. Snakes are only 30°C; frogs are 25°C, and sharks in the same environment are 1.5°C lower; In the end, the body temperature of insects is roughly equivalent to the temperature of water and air."

"It's all well and good," said Hatteras, who had not yet spoken, "I thank the doctor for teaching us science, but we talk as if we were going to overcome the terrible heat. Shall we talk about the cold, Wouldn't it be more beneficial to know what we're up against and the lowest temperature ever measured?" "Makes sense," Johnson replied. "It couldn't be easier," continued the doctor, "and I can give you many facts in this respect." "I believe," said Johnson, "that you know everything." "My friends, I only know what I have been taught, and when I speak, you are taught as I am. I am here to speak on the topic of cold, of the low temperatures that Europe has experienced. You may Citing many unforgettable winters, the coldest winter occurs about once every 41 years, and its appearance coincides with the appearance of the largest area of ​​sunspots. I will give you the winter of 1364, when the Rhone River was frozen for a long time. to Arles; in the winter of 1408, the Danube was frozen over, and the wolves passed through the Kattegat without getting their paws wet; April 10 still frozen, winter of 1608, all livestock in England dead, winter of 1789, Thames frozen up to Gravesade, six nautical miles downstream of London; winter of 1813, French Men still have horrible memories of it; finally, the winter of 1829. The earliest and longest winter of the nineteenth century. This is the case in Europe."

"But here, beyond the polar circle, what's the lowest temperature?" Altamon asked. "Indeed," replied the doctor, "I think we have experienced the coldest era ever measured, for the alcohol thermometer indicated -58°C one day. If I remember correctly, the lowest temperature so far confirmed by polar voyagers was in the It’s -47°C on Erville Island, -519°C in Port Felix, and -56.7°C in Port Unicom.” "Yes," said Hatteras, "we're held back by a cold winter, and it's a bad time!" "You are blocked?" Altamon looked at the captain firmly and said.

"On our westward voyage," said the doctor hastily. "So," said Altamon, picking up the subject again, "there is a difference of about 100°C between the highest temperature and the lowest temperature a human being can endure?" "Yes," replied the doctor, "a thermometer placed out in the open, protected from all reflections, never goes above 57°C above zero, nor does it drop below -58°C in times of unusual cold. Therefore , my friends, you know we are still very comfortable." "But," said Johnson, "if the sun suddenly disappeared, wouldn't the earth be left in an unusually cold state?" "The sun won't disappear," replied the doctor, "but if he does, the temperature won't really drop below the temperature I'm telling you about." "This is very strange." "Oh! I know that people used to think that the temperature of the space outside the atmosphere reaches several thousand degrees; but after the experiment of a French scientist Fourier, this idea should be dispelled; The colder it is, the greater the difference between night and day; therefore, my friends, it is no colder a few million miles from here than here." "Tell me, doctor," asked Altamon, "that the temperature in America is not lower than in the rest of the world?" "Undoubtedly, but don't take pride in it," replied the doctor, laughing. "How to explain this phenomenon?" "Attempts have been made to explain this phenomenon, but with little satisfactory results; thus, Halley thinks, a comet which formerly collided obliquely with the earth changed the position of the earth's axis of rotation, that is, the position of its poles; According to him, the North Pole, formerly in Hudson Bay, has moved eastward, and the former Arctic region has been frozen for too long, and remains so cold that centuries of sunshine have failed to warm it." "You do not accept this theory?" "Not at all, because what is true for the east coast of America is not true for the west coast, where the temperature is higher. No! It should be seen that there are different isotherms for the latitude of the earth, and everything is like that." "You know, Mr. Crowburn," Johnson said, "it's a good thing to talk about the cold in the situation we're in." "That's right, my old Johnson, we are the experimental reinforcements of the theory. These areas are a huge laboratory, and people can do all kinds of interesting experiments under low temperature conditions. It's just that you must concentrate and be careful from the beginning to the end." ;if any part of your body freezes, rub it immediately with snow to restore the circulation, and if you come near a fire, take care, for you will burn your hands and feet without you realizing it, This would require amputation, and try not to leave any part of us in the arctic regions. Having said all this, my friends, I think we had better ask sleep for a few hours' rest." "With pleasure," replied the doctor's companions. "Who keeps the stove?" "Me," Bell replied. "Well, my friend, take care not to let the fire go out, for it is strangely cold to-night." "Don't worry, Mr. Crawburn, that's certain, but look! The whole sky seems to be on fire." "Yes," replied the doctor, and he approached the window, "the Northern Lights are incomparably beautiful! What a spectacle! I am not distracted at all." Because the doctor is always admiring these cosmic phenomena, but his companions don't pay much attention to them. Moreover, he noticed that their appearance is often the precursor of magnetic pole tremors, and he is ready to make related observations for use. Soon everyone was sleeping peacefully in their bedding while Bell kept watch by the fire.

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