How Does Coal Walking Work?

While some claim walking on hot coals is mind over matter, there's actually a science to not burning yourself, involving conductivity and insulation.

Okay BrainStuff. It’s me, Jonathan. Let’s say you’re in northern Greece, or Bulgaria, or maybe Polynesia... and some villagers convince you that, “Y’know what? Walking barefoot through fire can’t be that bad… I’m willing to risk third degree burns to participate in their bonding ritual… thereby demonstrating the awesome power of my faith.”

But is it really “mind over matter” like some people say? How do people walk on hot coals without burning their feet?

Here’s the good news! There is a scientific answer. It involves heat conduction and insulation. For it to work, coal walkers light the fire well ahead of time and let it burn down to non-flaming coals.

I repeat: they’re walking on coals. Not fire. The embers can still exceed 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit, but with the right preparation, those trained can cross without burning their flesh.

See, the lightweight carbon structure of coal is actually a poor conductor of heat. This means it takes longer for the heat to transfer to human skin than a good conductor, like say... a burning metal pan. Water also has a high thermal capacity, which is why coal walkers let the wood burn down first, so the embers don’t retain water.

It also helps coal walkers to pat down and spread the coals, so there’s a flat surface that prevents their feet from digging in and scooping up hotter embers.

If they keep moving, each step should absorb relatively little heat. That’s why they’re “coal walkers” and not “coal standers,” otherwise their feet would sink and burn like bacon.

Finally, you ever notice how most coal walking is done at night? That’s because coal walkers cover their path with a layer of ash. If the sun were up you’d see this.

But at night, the glow is still visible through the layer. Ash is also poor at conducting heat. It blocks some of the warmth coming from the coals, transferring the heat even more slowly to your feet.

Even with this information about conduction and insulation, coal walking can still be dangerous. Sometimes a hot coal might get stuck to a foot. Tripping and falling can even be fatal. And watch out for misinformation about the physical principles behind this stunt. There are some claims out there that are simply not true and I wouldn’t want any BrainStuff fans to get hurt.

SOURCES:

[isaacsprenger]

Coal walking is nothing! Try walking on legos!

[flyingeagle]

“The mind has to wrap around the foot” -Micheal Scott

[Gwolfsoun]

Well I definitely think its mind over matter because they're smart enough to use science. Sounds like using mind to over matter to me.

[arjunverma]

I would like to see you doing don't explain it by talking

[mft_sauce]

I’m pretty sure this got patched in 12.3.5

[azimuth]

I would suggest that it IS mind over matter to some extent. A person has to summon up the courage to walk on the coals. But it takes the same kind of courage to skydive or bungee jump.

[locura__]

I have walk 3 times in one night and by the next day my feet were healing up because of how strong was my connection between me and the mother nature. It's more spiritual than mind.

[jeromewelch]

I believe the practice of walking on coals is based in conquering ones fear... Peace love your work. Thank you!

[sandrinep]

In my home country (Reunion Island), Hindu people walk on coals. Some of them walk very slowly and others run through it. It's still pretty amazing.

[imthedevil]

When i was little, my dad used to walk in the snow in bare feet and stir boiling food on the stove with his fingers. i asked him how he does it and he said "you build up a tolerance to it." So i figured it was normal for adults and i too built up enough tolerance. Years later, i found out that he was always drunk but i dont even care cause now, i can do things normal people cant 😁

[saimafa]

If youre interested, look up "Beqa firewalking", "firewalker"s walk over hot stones, yes stone, so its a better conductor than coals. Its a practice unique to the people of Beqa in the Fiji Islands.

[WeFrost]

My sister just went to a Tony Robbins coal walking seminar. 12-18 hours a day to be brainwashed and walk on coal. I wanted to find out the science behind it. Thank you.

[userxp]

💯 % pure science. I have tested it and all these explanations matches. Good job

[sethmorris]

when i was young my dad said watch out for the hot coals and then i wasn’t paying attention and walked through and didn’t notice a thing until he told me then i started crying

[Merlina]

The scientific explanation makes sense - but as the primative part of the human brain, hard wired though thousands of years of evolution, does not understand the science, being faced with the prospect of walking barefoot on hot coals is very scary!!

So it's about the psychological benefit of breaking through the fear and belief that it is not possible to do this without getting burned.
I've done this twice myself it's an exhilerating and empowering experience.. Maybe not a case of mind over matter, but certainly mind over fear and limitations.

It does have to be done with the right support from a trained team and supervision, to ensure people are ready and 'in state' before attempting this - definitely a case of 'don't try this at home'!

[alspezial]

When i was jung, i used to blacksmith barefooted.

One day i felt a weird sensation in my foot.

And sure enough when i watched later on,

I had an triangular dentation of about 2 mm depth in my foot from a glowing coal.


When you always walk barefoot, your feet will develope a thick and durable layer of skin underneath.

[XenoRaptor-]

If you think about it fire walking is actually the oldest party game there is.

[SelenaC_anime]

This was talked about on MythBusters, but great video anyways.

[uncipaws]

Thanks. So to safely "firewalk", have a good amount of charcoal no longer burning, just glowing, spread it evenly on a stone floor, cover it with a layer of ash and walk on it (and do it at night because only then you see the glow)?
I'd love to do this for entertainment at a group event next summer if I find volunteers to participate. But I don't want to be responsible for injuries. I'm already more resistant to hot road surfaces than most others I know, so I'm confident I'd remain unhurt.

[cloroxbeach]

I have done it, I just zone out the pain, I probably did it wrong according to this video, but it did hurt, I just had to zone out the pain.