The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1905-03-05
How the Body Is
Warmed.

y ALL probability the reader. on see
that he doesn't keep warm anud only
that he doesn't keep warm. and only
wishes he could However, with all due
difference TO his opinion. he is warm. and.
fortunately. Will continue TO keep So
Though he may feel cold, his tempera-
ture inside is maintained at constant
level by one of the most ingenious and
complicated devices known TO man. His
normal degree remains steady, despite all
sorts of climatic variations.
This permaneuce of our animal heat re-
quired many centuries of investigation
before its explanation was found There
pared with hot, inanimate bodies, that a
living body does not gradually grow cool
CT With other substances, the controry
Throughout the world there is one ever
lasting exchange of heat; all matter
whether il is liquid solid. or gaseous.
possessing more than the average degree
of heat. is forced to part with its surplus
to its poorer brethren. Nature IS lntIeN-
IDLY bringing. not anly the earth, out the
whole universe, 70 one common mon; IeHsI % -
temperature. At first sight hVlng organ
isns seem TO be exempt from thls per
petual law, but in reality we DO not
our warmth rises from the actual com
bustion of our food. but. strictly SPEAK
ing the air we inhale is the real cause
Our lungs are the flueS which create the
necessary draught and our plooo Is Ine
while the food we eat keeps up the pro-
per supply of fuel -,
| a simple thing as It appears at fiFst
sight 1t is so common an event tnat
we overlook it. and never even trouble
coal comes from. Yet just think for a
| moment pound of coal is as cold as
| anything else. You can handle it with
| impunity, and it cannot send the Their
| mometer up a solitary degree If you
| grind it into powder the same results
hoard of heat stored somewhere away
| inside il. The air proves equally barren:
| Yet we all know that when the coal
| burns marked change takes place. Inc
! question is. where was its heat con-
| cealed-where has il come from?
! When the coal is being burnt. it means
| is taking place. The carbon and hydro
gen atoms. which principally constitute
the coal, are vigorously uniting with the
oxygen atoms from our atmosphere. Al
| each conjunction occurs, the atomic heat
sorbed by the cooler air. When one recol
lects the Invaluable hOrdes of atoms that
exist in a pound of coal it no longer
comes from. That it is due TO chemica
combination is proved by examining thu
TO be carbonic acid gas and water va
por. showing that both the hydrogen
and carbon atoms entered into alliance:
with those of the oxygen What we cal
riage.
When we now turn to our own bodies
we discover the somewhat astounding
fact that our lungs are solely designed
| 70 keep US warm ne 1000 we eat, be
ing always of organic structure, Is con
sequentIy very rich in carbon, and il
reduced by our digestive organs into
liquid condition. The bulk of this il
poured through the thoracic duct int
the blood All through our system run
a great network of veins. piercing L
| every part. and penetrating every tbs
sue through which the blood circulatese
Kept in continual circulation by th'
heart. il means that the liquefied foo
is distributed by the blood stream [,
every part and is in corporated int
ourselves. But no warmth can occu
! yet. These billions of carbon atoms ar
awaiting the arrival of their mates. tn
| oxygen atoms. before they will con
| sent to yiel dup their store of laten
| heat.
| In a marvellous way Nature has con
trived a scheme so that the union be
( comes possible. She fits a second branch
. ing system of pipes and tubes into gu
| body, which will call our lungs
These ramify downward, growing fine
| and finer. till they end in a mash. o