Apr 12, 2023 05:52 PM
(This post was last modified: Apr 12, 2023 05:53 PM by C C.)
https://www.vice.com/en/article/epvngj/a...d-to-glass
EXCERPTS: [...] could have real-world implications for the hundreds of thousands of people who still live in the blast zone of this tempestuous volcano, which could produce another disastrous blast again one day, reports a new study.
[...] Pompeii is the most famous settlement destroyed by this ancient eruption, in part because layers of ash buried the town and its residents, leaving them eerily preserved for nearly 2,000 years. However, researchers working at the nearby seaside town of Herculaneum have discovered many bizarre curiosities in the ruins, including a piece of human brain that appears to have been vitrified into glass during the fallout of the eruption...
“The heat-induced effects suffered by the victims, notably the explosion and charring of skulls, vaporization of brains, cracked and charred bones, cracked teeth, contraction of limbs and thermal degradation of blood hemoproteins indicate the occurrence of an early extremely high thermal event higher than the previously estimated temperature of about 500°C,” Pensa and her colleagues explained.
“Unlike Pompeii, where many bodies show the typical post-mortem stance known as pugilistic attitude, the lack of such corpse attitude at Herculaneum testifies to the rapid disappearance of soft tissue, as the pugilistic stance is due to dehydration and shortening of muscles induced by intense heat,” the researchers continued. “However, until now, no direct measures of such a high temperature early [pyroclastic current] event were made at Herculaneum.”
[...] “The transformation into glass of fresh cerebral tissue in a hot environment is only possible if two conditions are met: (1) the heating event is short-lived, so that the tissue is not fully vaporized, and (2) once the diluted PDC has vanished, the body is not fully entombed in a hot deposit, a necessary condition to allow the very rapid cooling required to attain vitrification,” the researchers noted. “This allows us to recognize that [the first PDC] was an ephemeral, extremely hot, dilute event, and that a sufficient time interval occurred for the fast cooling of the body still partly exposed to air before the following [pyroclastic currents] progressively entered and covered the town.” (MORE - missing details)
EXCERPTS: [...] could have real-world implications for the hundreds of thousands of people who still live in the blast zone of this tempestuous volcano, which could produce another disastrous blast again one day, reports a new study.
[...] Pompeii is the most famous settlement destroyed by this ancient eruption, in part because layers of ash buried the town and its residents, leaving them eerily preserved for nearly 2,000 years. However, researchers working at the nearby seaside town of Herculaneum have discovered many bizarre curiosities in the ruins, including a piece of human brain that appears to have been vitrified into glass during the fallout of the eruption...
“The heat-induced effects suffered by the victims, notably the explosion and charring of skulls, vaporization of brains, cracked and charred bones, cracked teeth, contraction of limbs and thermal degradation of blood hemoproteins indicate the occurrence of an early extremely high thermal event higher than the previously estimated temperature of about 500°C,” Pensa and her colleagues explained.
“Unlike Pompeii, where many bodies show the typical post-mortem stance known as pugilistic attitude, the lack of such corpse attitude at Herculaneum testifies to the rapid disappearance of soft tissue, as the pugilistic stance is due to dehydration and shortening of muscles induced by intense heat,” the researchers continued. “However, until now, no direct measures of such a high temperature early [pyroclastic current] event were made at Herculaneum.”
[...] “The transformation into glass of fresh cerebral tissue in a hot environment is only possible if two conditions are met: (1) the heating event is short-lived, so that the tissue is not fully vaporized, and (2) once the diluted PDC has vanished, the body is not fully entombed in a hot deposit, a necessary condition to allow the very rapid cooling required to attain vitrification,” the researchers noted. “This allows us to recognize that [the first PDC] was an ephemeral, extremely hot, dilute event, and that a sufficient time interval occurred for the fast cooling of the body still partly exposed to air before the following [pyroclastic currents] progressively entered and covered the town.” (MORE - missing details)