Re: OFF: Re: Civilization without fire

On Tue, 4 Jan 2000, + + wrote:

> Fire is not needed for smelting.  All you need is heat, and as I think
> abrigon has pointed out, there are other chemical processes (our good
> friend calcium springs immediately to mind) that can produce intense
> heat in a wet environment.  Those famous undersea vents (and other hot
> springs) provide a nifty amount of heat.  Heck if insects can mix
> highly volatile (ie reactive, ie hot) concoctions and squirt them into
> their environs, I don't see why cephalopods can't! :-)
How does calcium produce heat?  What's the reaction like?  How intense is
the heat?

Sorry for being so inquisitive; just storing this for a possible future
short story or book.

--Pat