Researcher Used Fluid Dynamics to Explain How Quickly Vampires Could Drain Your Blood
It is 85 years since Bela Lugosi’s Dracula was released and it coincides with some unusual research from students at Leicester University. The Physics and Chemistry Department have been using fluids to determine how long it would take for the undead to remove all blood from a human.
It is 85 years since Bela Lugosi’s Dracula was released and it coincides with some unusual research from students at Leicester University. The Physics and Chemistry Department have been using fluids to determine how long it would take for the undead to remove all blood from a human. Via the carotid artery in the neck, it would take around 6.4 minutes to remove 15% of the blood.
The decision to stop at 15% was simple. Further blood loss would mean the rate that the heart beats would be altered and if there were less taken, the circulation would not be affected. Although the aorta is the main artery, it becomes five arteries, and this is why the report focuses on the carotid artery.READ ALSO: Scientists Will Modify Genes to Treat Cancer or Autism
The assumption was made that five arteries would be of the same thickness so they could work out the velocity that went to the carotid artery. The students worked out the pressure difference by measuring the pressure in the arteries about the pressure in the air.
By then determining blood density while at room temperature they were then able to work out what would leak from the human necks- the only further assumption had to be that each of the two fangs would leave an incision of around 0.5mm each.
If the vampire took just 15% of the 5 litres of blood in the average human, ¾ of a litre would be taken and 6.4 minutes would be taken to do it. Findings appeared in the Journals of Physics Special Topics showing the students creative side.
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Helena Marsh
Helena Marsh is the Editor-in-Chief at TrendinTech, where she leads editorial strategy and oversees coverage across artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and enterprise technology. With more than a decade in technology journalism on both sides of the Atlantic, she previously served as a senior editor at Wired UK and covered the technology sector for The Guardian, following the rise of the big platforms, the Cambridge Analytica scandal and the regulatory push from Brussels and Washington. Helena holds an MA in Journalism from City, University of London and is a regular speaker at Web Summit in Lisbon and CES in Las Vegas. She believes technology reporting should be rigorous and plainly written, so readers understand what actually changes for them rather than what a company's announcement promises.
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