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Re: Waking up covered in dew
Nick Maclaren (nmm1@cus.cam.ac.uk)
16 Aug 1996 10:49:26 GMT
In article <32128C49.703D@worldnet.att.net>,
Hob <comsec3@worldnet.att.net> wrote:
>Nick Maclaren wrote:
>
>> Um. Not quite. Dew forms quite effectively on naked skin if the
>> dew point is below the skin temperature, and I have had dew on my
>> skin in the UK. If you go around naked or near-naked in cold
>> conditions, your skin temperature is likely to be under 50 degrees
>> Fahrenheit (and quite likely under 40).
>
> Pardon my intrusion, but why are you concerned about dew and even
>hypothermia? I thought all of this was supposed to be happening in a
>tropical semi-arid African savanna.
Grin :-) I grew up there! Most of it is at high altitude (5,000 feet
plus), and mild frosts at night are common in the dry season. While
dew is not the problem that it is in the UK, there is often enough to
make things wet, and it is often cold enough to cause hypothermia.
You are correct that most nights are survivable by fit modern humans
without any form of protection (unlike in the UK), but they do mean
that you need more calories just to stay alive. And cold people are
slow people, which makes it difficult to respond to threats (such as
predators).
Nick Maclaren,
University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory,
New Museums Site, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QG, England.
Email: nmm1@cam.ac.uk
Tel.: +44 1223 334761 Fax: +44 1223 334679
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