| Popis: |
Pelotherapy is the local or generalized application of thermal muds called peloids. Nowadays, the primary reserves of peloids have been exhausted around the thermal springs, so the hydropathic establishments have difficulties in obtaining supplies. Their most important property derives from the fact that muds can maintain a temperature of 50°C and therefore a great number of calories diffuse through the skin. In the present work, this thermal quality was estimated by two tests, (a) the measurement of specific heat (Cp) and (b) the cooling kinetics of artificial mineral pastes. The water content of the pastes, their composition and the nature of their clay mineral phase are the factors which determine their thermal properties; we advise the use of montmorillonites, which have a higher swelling capacity, for pelotherapic practices. |
