Why can fire walkers walk on burining coal and not burn their feet?

Question

Why can fire walkers walk on burining coal and not burn their feet?

Answer 1

It is because the coals, while extremely hot, do not carry much heat. That sounds like a contradiction, but you need to break it down into a couple concepts, temperature and heat capacity. Temperature is simply a measure of the average kinetic energy of a molecule of a substance, and does not depend on the amount of substance. Heat capacity is the ability of a substance to hold a certain quantity of heat and does depend on the amount of substance.

The idea is that coals have a very low heat capacity. They just don't hold that much heat energy even when very hot. It's not the temperature itself that burns you, but it's the amount of heat energy transfered (driven by difference in temperature) into your skin that does the damage and causes burns. The less heat a substance holds at a given temperature, the less ability it has to cause a burn.

Another thing which helps out is that ash covered burnt coals aren't very thermally conductive. That means that even if they are holding heat at a high temperature, the heat has a hard time getting out. As an example, consider a mass of sheet metal and a mass of wood sitting out in the sun. Which one is hotter to the touch? The metal is since it has a higher thermal conductivity. This can be true even if the wood has a higher heat capacity.

So, basically that's the trick. Also, firewalkers walk fairly briskly. They don't take a leisurely stroll, that's for sure. That keeps the contact time down and lessens the heat transfer into the soles of the feet. Firewalkers may also coat their feet with water or other substances, which helps. Good firewalkers also are adept at hiding the expression of pain from their faces :) While their feet don't get burned, it still is a bit toasty!

Answer 2

They walk quickly, even weight distribution, layer of sweat on the feet and walk on the ashes.

Answer 3

Also, to add to the other responses here, it has alot to do with your mind.  You can control how you feel with your mind, sort of like the placebo effect...the same way that those monks who have a freezing wet towel wrapped around them can use their mind to control their body temperature and end up steaming the towel.