this post was submitted on 12 Feb 2026
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I can't really find a good number for how cold you can get and not die, so let's say 20 degrees. That gives 16 degrees to lose.
Meat has a specific heat of about 3.5kJ per kilo per degree, so say you weigh 70kg, that's about 4 million joules to lose before you die.
At 650 joules per second, you've got slightly over 10 minutes. Of course, shivering will burn more calories and stuff, and the panic of impending death will likely stretch it a few more.
I didn't include clothes, because then the maths would make me cry.
Your skin isn't at core temp tho, so the loss rate should be lower I think
At that point, you'll have to calculate the heat transport of the human body, and answer questions like "how long can a person live with frozen skin" and other fun questions I'm not equipped to answer.