Chapter 654 What a coincidence
People who wonder why the igloos don't melt even when they are warmed by a fire simply have too little understanding of the concept of cold.
It is difficult for most people to understand what it feels like to turn the air conditioner to the highest temperature and full power in winter, but still be freezing cold indoors.
But many northerners can.
How could a fire that only provides warmth for one person accomplish something that modern air conditioning can't accomplish?
"Ice has excellent thermal insulation properties. The outside and inside are two completely different temperatures. Therefore, the ice and snow on the inner surface will melt a layer, but it will refreeze and turn into ice under the subsequent cold air. Therefore, lighting a bonfire in the cave will not only not melt the igloo, but will make it harder."
Bifang shook himself off, gave a brief explanation, and continued shoveling snow.
The environment is dim. Although the sky cannot be seen, it can be judged that it is night. Bifang must be extra careful to avoid snowflakes falling into his shoes. In such extreme cold, getting shoes wet is fatal.
Bushes for making fires are easy to find, but edible food is not.
Before the snowstorm came, the shrubs were exposed on the ground and were easy to see. With just a few glances yesterday, Bifang had memorized the locations of all the shrubs with his powerful memory. Now he just had to follow the map.
Although the heavy snow blurred the distance, you can always find it if you feel around a little bit.
But things like mosses and lichens were already hidden under the snow before the snowstorm came, leaving no room for Bifangji to find them, so he could only rely on luck to search.
I touched it for nearly twenty minutes.
Staying in a snowstorm for even one minute is a huge test of physical strength. Bifang's limbs have begun to become stiff. If he had not been exercising all the time, he would have been unable to move long ago.
Fortunately, after digging for nearly five or six meters, a hint of green finally appeared on the screen.
Most tundra plants are perennial evergreen plants that can make full use of the short vegetative period without having to spend time growing new leaves and completing the entire life cycle. However, the short vegetative period makes tundra plants grow very slowly.
Although there are not many mosses and lichens in front of it, Bifang still regards them as treasures. They are good things that can save lives.
Bifang was greatly encouraged and dug up all the leaves, not caring whether they were tender or not. He took them home and used them for burning fire if he couldn't eat them.
In a world of ice and snow, plants are the most precious resources.
The solitary Bifang stumbled forward in the snow and ice. He was cold and hungry, and his hands and feet were almost on the verge of losing consciousness. Fortunately, his brain was still clear and he did not have hallucinations. An hour after leaving the cave, Bifang, who had dug up the second lichen, could no longer hold on.
He lifted his legs, which were as frozen as popsicles, and followed the rope back into the cave.
"hiss."
Bifang shook off all the snowflakes on his body, and every muscle was wailing and trembling in the severe cold.
A large amount of the fat that was originally stored was consumed. Although it was not enough to make the whole person look obviously thinner, the change in body weight was still noticeable to Bifang himself.
It is certainly impossible for an ordinary person to lose weight directly by not eating for three days, but in the Arctic, this is possible.
In the cruel test of nature's minus fifty degrees Celsius test on Bifang, his life depended entirely on the fat on his body, and his previous weight gain was not in vain.
In the cave, Bifang took off his shoes. Although he was very careful, the snowflakes in the storm penetrated every hole. Although his toes were completely frozen, he could still see that part of his socks were wet after being melted by the snow. If he had continued to dig snow, he might have faced the risk of necrosis.
Due to excessive cold, necrosis of limbs, especially toes, is very common even in modern times.
After eating and stuff, Bifang now has to build a bonfire to dry his shoes, otherwise it will completely freeze his feet.
Taking out all the dry branches and hay from the backpack, Bifang selected suitable materials and made a simple fire by drilling wood together.
"There is no shortage of fuel in this environment. There are actually large forests in Greenland, but we don't have any here. We only have shrubs, but they are also good materials. And they are very dry."
"Although these dead branches and leaves seem to be buried in the snow and become very wet, they actually contain very little water."
"This is a simple physical phenomenon. When it snows, the temperature is low. When the temperature is low, the saturated vapor pressure of the air is low, so the air can carry very little water vapor. When dry air comes into contact with a wet object, it causes more water inside the object to evaporate, making it dry."
[No wonder my skin always feels so dry in winter]
[Except SpongeBob. None of them can get wet when in contact with water.]
[Dry climate in autumn and winter is the mainstream of global climate]
Bifang took off his gloves, unbuttoned his jacket and took out the matches. He had to succeed in one go because his hands were frozen in just a short while.
He didn't have any fire-making materials on him, so he could only use the most primitive method of drilling fire. Because of the limited materials, he could only make fire by drilling wood.
Use a knife to scrape a branch into velvet and the tool is simple.
With Bifang's current master-level experience, although his fingers were a little stiff, drilling wood actually relied more on rubbing the drill with his palms and the strength of his arms, and he successfully ignited black smoke in just one try.
The bonfire was lit, Bifang put his hand close to the flame, and his blood immediately became active.
After warming the shoes over the fire, Bifang put them back on. An indescribable feeling of comfort ran up along his spine to the top of his head, making him want to stretch.
Bifang wanted to change to a comfortable posture, so he leaned against the wall of the cave, and suddenly, the snow fell.
The fire is out.
Um?
Bifang looked up in surprise, only to find that a thick piece of snow had fallen off the top of the originally arched snow roof at some point, like white wall paint falling from a ceiling that had been in disrepair for a long time.
The sudden accident stunned everyone.
There was silence for a full minute before Bifang's voice sounded again.
"This is what happens when you dig first and then rebuild."
If you were to build an igloo normally, you would naturally use snow bricks, piling up the thick snow bricks one by one, but Bifang's method was to dig a big hole and then paste the top into an arch shape.
The products of this kind of engineering are naturally not as strong and stable so it is normal for one or two pieces to fall off occasionally.
Perhaps it was due to the change in temperature that it had just deformed and detached slightly, coupled with the slight vibration, which happened to extinguish the fire that had just been ignited.
Bifang had to light the fire once again. This was his last chance because his hands were no longer under his control and his toes even began to feel tingling. He put on gloves and hit his thighs desperately until his hands regained feeling.
