Fire vs Ice - Which is deadlier ?

[Jason]

Hi,

So me and my brother were having a discussion about which of these two elements would kill you quicker, Fire, or Ice;

Fire - It burns away at your flesh as you scream and run around, once it's gotten past your flesh which will just drip off from the heat, it'll boil your blood, and eventually just fry your internal organs causing you to die. Fire stays at a constant temperature, or near enough, so you'll feel the pain all the way through.

Ice - Freezes you, however, you're also breathing in extremely cold air which could cause your lungs to freeze and stop working, so you'll basically be suffocating, if however your body temperature manages to melt the ice thats frozen your lungs (I doubt it...), wouldn't it drip to water and you'll be drowning on dry land ? Ice will cool your body temperate to a point where your body will go numb, and then even further until it burns (Ice burns are a bitch...)

Also, Ice hurts when someone throws it at you !

So which do you think is the deadlier element ?

 

[Cryaotic]

I would have to say ice, simply for the fact it can literally stop all of your body functions and freeze your heart. Though this depends on how powerful the ice would be (I am talking in a more magical sense since this is a game making forum and well, magic usually finds its way in sooner of later!)

In a realistic sense, if you are put into the situation where you are strapped to a chair and have a flame thrower blasting in your face for a duration of time in comparison to arctic chills; fire would win in my book.

So it all depends on the source I believe!

:cheers:

 

[Zekallinos]

It depends on the temperature, of course.

I'd say ice. The reason is, the temperature of just a candle can go around 1000'C, while the opposite of that (-1000'C) doesn't even exit, being under absolute zero. In fact, a 273'C flame (opposite of absolute zero) isn't as damageable as it seems (it's still burn you really bad, but it's not like you'll instantly die) while something like solid helium can probably burn you much deeply.

Of course, it's quite odd to compare temperatures like that.

 

[Wolfgang]

Within the temperatures you can reach on earth... fire would be more deadly, for the simple fact that aside from the heat, the smoke would suffocate you much faster. Ice will make you just as dead, but it will take longer. (Fire - 2-5 mins of smoke inhilation or overheat and die :: Ice - 20-60 mins of freezing your ass off before your body stops functioning)

Though, if you want to know which element can, in any earth circumstances, kill you faster, it would be ice. A giant icle could fall from the top of whatever cave you ran to for shelter from the cold, the giant ice spear would hit your head and kill you all quick like.

But fire is more deadly in normal circumstances.

 

[Jason]

Within the temperatures you can reach on earth... fire would be more deadly, for the simple fact that aside from the heat, the smoke would suffocate you much faster. Ice will make you just as dead, but it will take longer. (Fire - 2-5 mins of smoke inhilation or overheat and die :: Ice - 20-60 mins of freezing your ass off before your body stops functioning)

Though, if you want to know which element can, in any earth circumstances, kill you faster, it would be ice. A giant icle could fall from the top of whatever cave you ran to for shelter from the cold, the giant ice spear would hit your head and kill you all quick like.

But fire is more deadly in normal circumstances.

Hmm, so how about if you ran around the north pole during a snowstorm and were butt naked ? (Serious question by the way...)

 

[mawk]

this is not an insightful or thought-provoking discussion no matter how much fire hurts