Thermal conductivity and the survival of Bionicle... kind?

[VeoiTheRascal]

Now, I came to this thought recently after watching too many scientifically educational videos and being blind sided by one in particular. The subject matter of said particular video was on thermal conductivity and I thought, 'Bionicles are encased from head to toe in metal, which happens to be a conductor for thermal energy... How do they regulate their body temperatures from going too high or too low (without dying)?'So, how do they maintain a steady body temperature? Are external insulation similar to clothing needed when temperatures are lower? Why hasn't there been a mention of such gear in the world of Bionicle? Do they have other methods of keeping their core temperature? Is keeping a constant core temperature even necessary?

 

Your thoughts on the matter are very welcome.

 

--VeOi ThE rAsCaL

[25K Now!]

>Sees 'Bionicles'

>>Enters minor rage.

 

Ahem.

 

The members of the Matoran Universe are pretty much mechanical beings with some organic bits here and there, which means they probably aren't as affected by temperature changes than us. There have been mentions of them being too cold or too hot, but most of that seems to occur in more extreme situations - they aren't affected by the deserts of Po-Wahi, but are by the more extreme temperatures of the Mangai Volcano and the higher parts of Mt. Ihu.

 

Suffice to say they probably work rather differently to humans, especially seeing as they were artificial creations of the Great Beings that have been tasked to maintain the Mata Nui Robot in its journey around the universe, so there probably is some sort of temperature regulator ... installed into them or something like that.

 

On the people of Bara Magna ...

 

No idea.

[toa kopaka4372]

We don't know the anatomy of the MU inhabitants in detail, but imagine they have some system in their bodies to help them sustain a steady body temperature.

 

Same goes to the inhabitants of Bara Magna.

[Taipu1]

Matoran seem to work in much less finger margines than humans. Our bodies work within a tolerance of something like 1 degree. Matoran, particularly Ta-Matoran will have a much better temperature tolerance.

 

Also, just because metal is a good conductor of heat in the real world, doesn't mean it is in Bionicle. One could argue that describing a material as metal automatically applies these properties to it though, and I'd tend to run with that.

[TheSkeletonMan939]

I can't say I've ever thought about biomechanical body temperature.

 

For what it's worth, Ta-Matoran probably have a pretty low body temperature so that they can withstand the heat of their region more easily.

[Death of the Endless]

I'm sure they have a system of organs that work to cool them down. I'll have to think about that...

 

And then, of course, some such as Ta- and Ko-Matoran have elemental abilities that allow them to survive in extreme temperatures.

[T.B.O.C]

Actually, we do know that Agori and Glatorian have to wear clothes or other things under their armor so they don't fry to death in it, if that helps at all.

[Cratak]

Like some others have said, most sentient Bionicle beings probably have installed in them some form of a temperature-regulating device, sort of like the AC in your car. Of course, that would mean that they would have to have a highly advanced immune system for the organic parts, because the temperature would probably be ripe for some sort of harmful microscopic organism.

The sentient beings of Bara Magna probably have implants designed by the Great Beings, or their bodies have adapted to their enviornments well enough to withstand it for thousands of years.

As for Rahi in the Matoran Universe, one would think that the Makuta designed them for a specific enviornment with the ability to adapt to minor changes.

Some of the same goes for the creatures of Bara Magna, but they would obviously have to adapt more to fit the change in enviornment after the Shattering.

[fishers64]

4.) In Bionicle: Desert of Danger, Metus says...QUOTE"Around here the monsters don't wear masks ... or hats, or pants, or anything else. And they eat you because they're hungry and you're nearby. Got it?" Metus This implies that the aforementioned clothing items may be used among SM inhabitants. My question is, do SM inhabitants commonly use clothing items such as those mentioned above? (But then again, they generally wear full armor all the time anyway...)

4) Yes. You wear fabric under the armor. You don't wear armor against bare skin in a desert, you would fry your skin right off.

So the SM natives wear clothes. MU inhabitants lived in a temperature-controlled robot, with some beings designed to live in different thermal environments by design. I think it might be that the computer components in the robots were designed to withstand a certain amount of heat or cold, and keep the organics at the right temperature for operations. However, could be that the organics were designed for different temperatures too, much like the Ice tribe and Fire tribe on SM...I don't see the inhabitants of Iconox wearing furs, which may indicate a natural organic resistance to cold. Edited December 8, 2012 by fishers64

[The Iron Toa]

Resistance to temperature changes and/or an ability to regulate temperature might be a property of the protodermis that makes up living beings itself.

[sunflower]

I'd imagine that MU species would have some sort of temperature-regulating system within themselves, as it would be a huge oversight on the GB's part if there wasn't. Why design some advanced worker-robot-partly-organic-being if it constantly overheated?

 

And SM species are (technically) biological, and I've always assumed that they were a warm-blooded species. And we know they wear clothes, I don't think that just because we haven't seen it on-screen, it rules out the possiblity of them wearing warm winter coats and suff.