Flatus is approximately 30-35% methane and 65-70 arbon dioxide.
Consequently, all list members should moderate their diet to reduce their
contribution to the greenhouse effect. Those countries, like Oz, which have
very high populations of ruminants (sheep and cattle) which, due to their
diet fart almost constantly, are major greenhouse contributors for that
reason alone. This offsets the forests as a 'carbon sink' argument - a
'flatus surplus!'
I suspect that the igniting colon argument is urban myth - there is no
oxygen in there and there is no more likelihood of the flame retreating up
the rectum than a flame could retreat up the pipe in a gas cooker. However,
the anus is definitely at risk.
There is another urban myth with more liklihood of truth - the farm
insurance claim. Apparently, a vet was treating a cow for bloat in an
English cowshed. This involves penetrating the abdominal wall with a large
canula (like a hollow dagger) and releasing a huge build-up of gases in the
abdomen. Unfortunately, the vet didn't notice that the farmer, watching
closely behind him, was smoking a cigarette. The expelled gas ignited like
a flamethrower and hay in the shed caught fire. The shed burned down and
the farmer submitted a claim. A version of the story was used in an episode
of 'All Creatures Great and Small.'
Anybody attempting to photograph the phenomenon should use the general
rules for fireworks and sell tickets to the event.
Andrew
>>>To tie a thread from some months back to this one: will IR film detect the
>>>product of the gas emitted by a cow destined for McDonalds? Obligatory OM
>>>content, best shot with a 350mm or better lens.
>>
>>Only if you ignite the gas - stand well back!
>
>Is it really possible to ignite farts?
>
> The answer to that is yes! However, you should be aware that people
>get
>injured igniting flatulence. Not only can the flame back up into your
>colon, but
>your clothing or other surroundings may catch on fire. A survey done by
>Fartcloud (the site, alas! is not more) indicates that about a quarter of
>the people
>who ignited their farts got burned doing it. Ignition of flatulence is a
>hazardous
>practice.
> There have also been cases in which intestinal gases with a higher
>than normal
>oxygen content have exploded during surgery when electric cautery was used
>by
>the surgeon.
>
>from http://www.heptune.com/farts.html
>
>
>/Acer V
>--
>dum spiro, spero
>http://student.ucr.edu/~siddim01
>
>
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