Ashes are heavier than some people expect Bones are made of various acids, minerals, and salts, which means they're heavier than many people expect. How heavy the ashes are will depend on the person who's died. Men and young adults have the most solid bones.
Are cremation ashes heavy? A box of adult human ashes can be surprisingly heavy. The weight is unlike what might be expected from a box of campfire ashes. Human cremation ashes include crushed bone, which makes them denser than ash from wood.
Cremated remains resemble coarse sand and are whitish to light grey in color. The remains of an average size adult usually weigh between four to eight pounds of cremated remains.
About 5 pounds for an adult. The weight can vary from 3 pounds all the way up to 10, depending on the size and density of the deceased's bones. Organ tissue, fat, and fluids burn away during cremation, leaving only bone behind when the incineration's completed.
As a general rule, ashes following cremation will weigh between 4 to 6 pounds, or around 3.5% of the person's original weight.
While there are many variables to calculating the amount of ashes there will be after cremation, here is a simple rule of thumb: For every pound that the person weighed prior to cremation, there will be one cubic inch of cremated remains (i.e. ashes) after cremation.
Men generally have denser bones than women. In addition, young people commonly have denser bones than older people. So younger male's ashes will weigh more than elderly women. Furthermore, adult ashes represent roughly 3.5% of the original weight and 2.5% for children.
Since all of the organic matter is burned away during cremation, this is why ashes can last (almost) forever - or at least for our entire lifetime. Bones are still DNA and scientists believe that DNA has survived for about one million years.
Only one body can be cremated at once, and all cremated remains must be cleared from the cremation chamber before another cremation can begin. These standards do mean that you may have little input into any 'customization' of a cremation process.
Cremation of a body can be done with or without clothing. Typically, if there has been a traditional funeral (with the body) present, the deceased will be cremated in whatever clothing they were wearing.
The average amount of ash left over after the cremation of an adult is about 3 to 3.5 liters or 183 to 213 cubic inches. For a child this will be 0.8 to 2 liters or 54 to 122 cubic inches and for a (premature) baby 0.3 to 0.7 liters or 18 to 43 cubic inches. Your crematorium will always know the exact volume.
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.
Since cremation ashes are mostly made up of bone, and bones are not degradable, the ashes can last as long as a person wants them to.
When a body is brought to the crematory, a small numbered medical identification disk is placed with the body. This number is now associated with the name of the deceased. The disk accompanies the body throughout the cremation process and is attached to the cremated remains when returned to the family.
As the body approaches that scorching temp, it goes through several changes: At approximately 572 degrees, the organic components in bone begin to carbonize, turning black or dusty brown. As the temperature reaches around 1400 degrees, the bones become darker black.
The only parts of the body that are removed before cremation are artificial ones like a medical device or implant with a battery, silicone, pins, radiation pressurization, pacemakers, and large hip, knee, and shoulder replacements along with any external jewelry.
Why do families need to wait? These different state laws are based on the typical amount of time it takes to complete authorizations, like issuing a death certificate. Because the crematorium needs the death certificate before they can cremate the body, this delays the process and is built into the waiting period.
The cremation itself takes about three to four hours, with another one to two hours for processing. Once a body is cremated, it typically takes seven to ten days to return the ashes to the family.
The cremation process for humans takes between 1.5 and 2 hours. The body is placed in a retort, which is then heated to between 1400 and 1800 degrees Fahrenheit. At this temperature, the body burns, and the bones turn to ash. After the body has been cremated, the ashes are placed in an urn and returned to the family.
The average cremated adult will produce about five pounds of pulverized bone fragments, a coarse powder that is sterile and safe to touch, even if the person died of a communicable disease.
Are organs removed before cremation? Removing organs before cremation does not happen. Even if an autopsy has been performed, the organs are cremated.
There's nothing bad about keeping cremated remains at home. Even though the practice is legal, those from specific faith communities may object to the practice. Some religious faiths, such as followers of Islam, Eastern Orthodox, and some Jewish sects forbid cremation.
What's really returned to you is the person's skeleton. Once you burn off all the water, soft tissue, organs, skin, hair, cremation container/casket, etc., what you're left with is bone. When complete, the bones are allowed to cool to a temperature that they can be handled and are placed into a processing machine.
The colour hue is a result of the temperature of the cremation chamber. During cremation, the body is exposed to temperatures ranging from 760 to over 980 degrees Celsius or 1,400 to 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit. Bones need to reach a temperature higher than 800 degrees Celsius (1,472 F) to produce lighter-coloured ashes.
The actual ashes are thus useless as they will not contain DNA. It is the bones and teeth that could potentially hold some DNA viable for analysis. However, after the cremation, the bones and teeth left behind are turned into a find powder (a process known as pulverization).