What's returned to you is the person's skeleton. Once you burn off all the water, soft tissues, and cremation container/casket, etc., all that's left is bone. The bone is ground up and given to you as “ashes.”
The bones themselves will not burn during the process; in fact, if left undisturbed, there will be an entire skeleton left behind after a cremation. Then those bones are swept out and machinery is used to break them down into smaller components that can fit easily inside an urn or other storage vessel.
Even within modern crematoria, which burn efficiently and at high temperatures, the skeleton will survive. The skeletal remains are then raked from the cremator and the remains placed in a machine known as a cremulator, which grinds the bones into ash.
Cremated ashes are coarse and gritty, ranging in color from white-gray to dark gray. Initially after the cremation there will be bone fragments, but these are run through a machine to grind them down into the coarse sand-like substance you will receive.
Green bones after the cremation could be. because of contact with chromium oxide or. tetracycline (antibiotics given during. childhood). It is said by scientists.
What's returned to you is the person's skeleton. Once you burn off all the water, soft tissues, and cremation container/casket, etc., all that's left is bone. The bone is ground up and given to you as “ashes.”
The colour of ashes can vary
Ashes are between grey or grey-brown in colour. They are usually mid-to-light grey, but it's normal for them to be darker grey, or to have a brown tinge.
People are often surprised by how much cremated remains they get back after a body has been cremated. All bones are left they do not evaporate. The bones are then reduced in size to a granular consistency. The cremated remains of an adult typically weigh between five and eight pounds.
Instead, there remains a mixture of dust, bone fragments, and metal debris, such as dental implants. The crematorium staff first removes the metal debris and then gathers up the dust and bone fragments. The bone fragments are ground into a uniform “ash” consistency.
Cremation Involves Lighting the Body on Fire
One of the most misguided cremation myths is that the body is set on fire. The cremation process uses flames to create extreme heat in a specially designed furnace. During the cremation process, the furnace (also called a retort) reaches temperatures around 1800° F.
The cremation chamber must be clean of ashes before another cremation can start. These rules mean that you don't have much control over how a cremation is done. Does the body feel pain during cremation? The body does not feel pain during cremation because the person is no longer alive.
The skull does not burst during cremation. The skull will become fragile and crumble. This gives the illusion of bursting.
No. The coffin and the body inside are cremated together. There are occasions where the deceased or the family of the deceased has opted for using a cardboard coffin in which their loved one will be cremated.
The bones, which are the last to go, become calcified as they are exposed to the heat and begin to flake or crumble [source: Pope].
Here are the answers to some of the most common weird cremation questions. Do teeth burn during cremation? Teeth usually burn up during the cremation process. Tooth fragments that are not burnt up will be ground during the ash processing.
Does the body sit up during cremation? Yes, this can happen. Due to the heat and the muscle tissue, the body can move as the body is broken down, although this does happen inside the coffin, so it won't be visible.
How long do cremated ashes last? In theory, cremated ashes can last forever. Some funeral homes have ashes from the 19th Century that are still in their urns, and archeologists have been known to discover ashes that are thousands of years old.
Can you get DNA from ashes? Yes. In rare cases, DNA can be extracted from cremated ashes.
The material is not soft and fluffy like wood ashes. It's a grainier substance that is more like coarse sand. That's because it's crushed bones, along with small amounts of salts and other minerals. They range in color from a pasty white to a deep gray.
As a general rule, ashes following cremation will weigh between 4 to 6 pounds, or around 3.5% of the person's original weight. In the case of children, ashes weigh about 2.5% of the original body weight.
Can more than one body be cremated in a cremator at the same time? The Code insists that each cremation is carried out separately. Exceptions may be made in the case of a mother and baby or twin children providing the next of kin has made a specific request in writing in this regard.
If the bag doesn't fit, there are three options:
A funnel may be used to fill the urn directly with ashes. If you wish to keep the ashes in the bag, a new bag will first need to be inserted into the urn with the opening of the bag on the outside.
The average time for an adult cremation is 90 minutes at a temperature of between 800 and 1000 degree Celsius. On average from insertion to final cooling the cremation process may take up to four hours.
If you are concerned that the ashes will smell after the cremation, the answer is no. There is no odor emitted from ashes that have been properly cremated. Even over time, you shouldn't expect any particular smells to develop. If anything, certain cremation containers will simply emit a slight incense-like smell.
Ashes from flame cremation are usually grey and have a coarse, sand-like consistency (see image above). The colour of the ashes varies; some may be darker or lighter. The colour hue is a result of the temperature of the cremation chamber.