For some people , the term " bed of nails " put forward up a stereotypical mental image of an Indian mystic who lie onnailsfor hr on end . While the practice may have originated in India , today it is primarily a form of amusement . In circuses , sideshows and other venues , lying on a bed of nail is an expression of a performer ’s toughness , bravery and imperviousness to pain .
Beds of nail also live in an surround that does n’t usually have much in common with a carnival tent – the skill classroom . Rather than being a demonstration of apparitional piety or forcible prowess , the seam of nail can be a monstrance the rationale ofpressure . You may have hear that a luxuriously - heeled shoe exerts more pressure on the ground than the foundation of an elephant . This is the same rationale that allows people to lie on a bed of nails without breaking their cutis .
Pressure is the practical program offorceover a fussy area . In numerical terms , pressure is adequate toforce divided by orbit . With more violence comes more pressure level , and with more country come less insistence . This is why a person wearing a high - heeled skid exerts more pressure on the background than an elephant does . An elephant weighs a lot more than a person , but its feet have more aerofoil area than the pointed heel of a shoe .
If you ill-use on the point of a nail , your foot exerts a tremendous amount of pressure on the nail ’s tiny point . As a result , the point can go straight through your metrical foot . But a bed of nail has draw of point that are close together – there ’s a lot of surface area for the dead body to cover . Hundreds of nail support the free weight of your consistency instead of just one . Typically , your consistency does n’t maintain enough pressure on any one nail for it to break the pelt . you’re able to even point a 2nd seam on top of you and break a cinderblock on it . The resulting force is distributed over all of the nail , so you should n’t be injured .
The whoremonger is pay back on and off the bed . If you sit on the bed , only a few nails are supporting your weight . The same is true if you put your hand down to stabilise yourself . And if one nail is taller than the rest , it will take in the brunt of your body ’s pressing and puncture your tegument .
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