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From: Frank McCoy <mccoyf@millcomm.com>
Newsgroups: alt.fan.frank.mccoy
Subject: Re: Humans are gregarious creatures
Date: Thu, 30 Dec 2004 19:30:06 -0600
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In alt.fan.frank.mccoy Denny Wheeler
<dennyw@TANSTAAFL.zipcon.net.INVALID> wrote:
>On Tue, 28 Dec 2004 21:04:41 -0600, Frank McCoy <mccoyf@millcomm.com>
>wrote:
>
>>Ruminating about this led me to propose a new invention for hospitals
>>to use: A Buddy-Bag.
>>
>>Fill a large pillow-shaped plastic or rubber-fabric bag (use Water-Bed
>>materials) with water heated to 98.5 degrees Fahrenheit, with thermal
>>controls to heat or cool it to within a degree of that temperature
>>(using thermal Peltier-effect modules to maintain even heat) and
>>covered with a nice removable terry-cloth cover, for sick people to
>>snuggle up to.
>
>Not bad. I'd say flannel would be better than terry, but that's a
>matter of taste.
>
>One point though--you wouldn't want it that warm. While the bodies we
>cuddle to are ~98.6 F inside, they're quite a bit cooler at the outer
>layer of skin. The right temp wouldn't be too hard to determine,
>though.
You'd want it to maintain your temperature, whether it was high or
low. Be a heat-sink if you're hot, and a source if you're cold. I'm
still thinking close to 100F, core temperature. Just like a person,
the Buddy-Bag would likely be cooling itself; and if covered up, the
"skin" temperature goes up appropriately, just like a human's does if
we're covered up with blankets. The Buddy-Bag though, wouldn't have
to sweat like a human would to remain at 98.5; sending excess heat
through a heat-pipe to an external sink.
The proper temperature would be like the proper temperature of water:
If you put your hand in the water, it shouldn't feel hot, cold, or
really the water at all, except as resistance. Same thing here: To a
healthy adult, the Buddy-Bag shouldn't feel either hot or cold or even
warm or cool; just neutral.
As to flannel vs terry-cloth: You want THICK cloth. Not your cheap
terry-cloth you find in most washrags, but the *thick* and *soft* kind
you find in the towels at a $5000-a-night hotel. Flannel would do ...
But it might take three layers.
--
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