Perhaps one day you saw a scene in a movie, series, or documentary of an Eskimo, dressed
in heavy clothes, standing in front of a hut made entirely of ice.
Then a Homeric and quite logical question arose in your mind: How could a person live
in an ice hut?
The weather in the polar regions is cold enough to freeze the balls of a pool table, and ice
is naturally cold.
So, is it wise to build a shack of ice and enter it with our feet to get warmth inside?
At first glance, that may seem illogical, but let me tell you it is very normal, logical
and believable, and that these huts are definitely not Photoshop or graphics.
Ice huts, or Igloos, are actually exist, have been built by the Eskimos and the inhabitants
of the polar regions since a long time ago and until now.
Welcome, today we will know the answer to the deep question: How do Igloos stay warm
on the inside even though they are made of ice?
The Arctic is considered one of the most extreme environments on Earth, starting from the coasts
of North America to northeastern Siberia, but despite the extreme cold in the place
and harsh climatic conditions, there are survivalists who have been able to stand out in this place
for thousands of years.
These people are called the Eskimos.
The Eskimos who live in the arctic regions are fully compatible with the lifestyle there,
and do not like to leave the place at all, despite the absence of cities, facilities
or any landmarks of urbanization.
All that in front of them is endless ice and a harsh lifestyle.
Let us first mention a marginal fact, the Eskimo people do not like the word Eskimo,
and if someone speaks it in front of them, they feel upset and insulted.
The Eskimo word is derived from a term for strangers who speak a different language,
and for people who eat raw meat.
But they prefer to be called Inuit rather than Eskimo, because the word Inuit means:
people.
But let us here mention them by the Eskimo name, just for the narration sake no more,
and please if you come across one of them, do not tell about this violation.
The Inuit or Eskimo people live in icy regions, where winter temperature reaches minus 50
degrees Celsius.
And anyone who lives in such weather, must look for a safe shelter to live in, whether
it is built of bricks, metal or wood.
Unfortunately, the Arctic does not have any of those things, even trees and forests are
almost non-existent here.
That's why the Eskimos learned to build shelters using the only thing they had: ice.
Thousands of years ago they established dome-like shacks, known as igloo, but the question is,
how do they get warm in these homes?
The truth is that science tells us that ice can warm a person and maintain their body
temperature, and in order to understand how this happens, let me tell you about the story
of an animal called sea water.
This animal feeds on fish and marine creatures, so it is forced to live in cold water, but
anatomically this animal does not have thick skin or fatty tissues that protect him from
the cold.
So how does it get the warmth necessary for its life?
This animal is resorting to a very strange thing, which is air particles.
The sea water’s fur is dense and its texture is very soft.
The reason for obtaining the appropriate heating is due to the structure of the fur fabric
from the inside.
It is tapered very precisely, to the extent that it can trap air particles inside it,
and at the same time, the air is an excellent heat insulator.
For this reason, the body heat of this animal does not come out easily, because the air
trapped in its fur from the outside prevents heat from leaving its body.
Because of this, when exposed to very low temperatures, the animal never feels cold.
If you are still here, you may be wondering, what do I want to say from this example, and
what is the relationship of this animal to the subject matter?
Simply, what we like to say is that air is an excellent heat insulator, and that's the
whole idea.
If we find a type of ice that carries an appropriate amount of air in its particles, it will be
perfectly suitable for the process of building a shelter, and the Eskimos, as you know, are
ice experts.
They know it as well as the back of their hands.
They know its types and specifications.
As for us, we only know that it is just ice, that cold white thing which slips from our
hands when playing with it in winter.
Have there been types of ice also?
O strange.
The truth is that yes, there are many types of ice.
In the Eskimo language there are a considerable number of different words and terms that express
ice, eloquently formulated to describe the type of ice and its current condition, because
ice is the most thing they see in their environment.
There is a type of ice they call (glacier ice), which is made up of 10% frozen water
and 90% air.
It is in the form of layers on the surface of the earth in icy areas.
This particular type is very suitable for the construction process, firstly because
it is solid and withstands surrounding conditions, and secondly because it contains a large proportion
of air, and since air is an excellent heat insulator as we mentioned earlier, this type
will be the most suitable for sheltering and living.
Igloos maintain the temperature inside, and don't allow it to seep out through walls,
just like the idea of a thermos.
And this is exactly what is required, that the heat that radiates from our bodies, or
that is in the air around us, does not leak out of the place.
Let's take a look at the design of this igloo, the floor is not flat, and the space from
the inside consists of several levels: first the entrance, and it is very low, after that
comes a second level a little higher, used to make a fire or do cooking and other tasks,
and finally the last level, which is the upper place where they sleep.
This gradual system is not arbitrary or random.
Rather, it is completely intended and has a very important role.
Hot air by nature rises upward because it is lighter in weight, and cold air by its
nature descends and settles at the bottom because it is heavier in weight.
For this reason, the heat in the igloo, whether caused by the fire that is lit indoors, or
the heat that radiates from the bodies of the inhabitants, all without exception rise
upwards, and remains around the people in the upper area of the igloo.
At the same time, the walls of the igloo are heat-insulating, and this process makes the
atmosphere warm inside the place.
The temperature inside is 10 degrees or even 15 degrees Celsius, and if you think it is
still cold, let me tell you that the temperature outside is 50 degrees Celsius below zero,
and therefore it is a very suitable temperature.
An experienced Eskimo can build a small igloo in only about 3 hours.
As for large igloo that can accommodate many members such as an entire family, building
it takes two days or a little more.
It is strange that with the radical progress made in building methods and modern architecture
systems, no one has found a better method of building huts than the method actually
used by the Eskimos.
This spiral method of the external structure that resembles a dome, results in a very stable
building, that does not contain any edges or wasted areas.
Whoever has experience in the architectural field, will realize that building in this
way transforms all the loads and vertical force into a horizontal force that is emptied
inside the ground, so the construction is stable and storm-resistant at the same time.
Thus, we have answered the question: How do Igloos stay warm on the inside even though
they are made of ice?
Looking forward to another episode in which we answer the questions that come to your
mind at the time of insomnia after midnight.