3 ms·
After trying to start a fire using a stick and bow, it's hard for me to imagine the wind generating enough energy to make a live tree catch fire.
by recursive 3y ago
After trying to start a fire using a stick and bow, it's hard for me to imagine the wind generating enough energy to make a live tree catch fire.
- TehCorwiz 3y agoYour arms may tire, but the wind does not. It may take luck, but only needs to work once per tree.
- __MatrixMan__ 3y agoEven with limitless energy, I think that wood that is dry enough to ignite is too brittle to sustain the force necessary. Limbs sliding back and forth would strip the tinder and create long smooth patches which would cool between cycles in the high winds. You might end up with a charred coating on the limbs and sawdust all over the ground, but I don't think you'd get flame. You really need the spin of a bow drill to concentrate the kinetic energy in a small enough patch, and you need tinder nearby.
- TehCorwiz 3y agoYou make some good points. How about improving the conditions for fire? The friction may not be enough to ignite, but it could be enough to increase the dryness both through friction and mechanically brushing away water. By stripping small bits of bark surrounding the area around the contact point it could create an area that would be more predisposed. Although upon reflection I think the fire hypothesis is remote. Although, I could see it causing enough damage over time to restrict the victim tree's growth on that branch, or even killing the branch outright due to damage or disease caused by the injury. If the aggressive tree had adaptations that reduced its susceptibility to disease it could be a net win.