Does the Oxygen Content of Tolkien’s Middle Earth Allow for Greater Endurance?

Authors

  • Richard Walker The Centre for Interdisciplinary Science, University of Leicester
  • Alice Cooper-Dunn The Centre for Interdisciplinary Science, University of Leicester

Keywords:

Book, Film, Biology, Gas exchange, VO2 max, Endurance, Tolkien, Middle Earth

Abstract

The Lord of The Rings is a quintessential fantasy trilogy in which human men perform many seemingly unachievable feats of heroism and athleticism. One such example would be Aragorn’s tireless defence of Helms Deep for an entire night. This paper investigates whether it is a feasible hypothesis to suggest that Middle Earth must have a higher oxygen content in order for the men of Rohan and Gondor to perform such physical tasks. Through using the gas exchange equation, estimating a 10% increase in atmospheric O2 concentration in Middle Earth when compared to Earth and using Aragorn as a test subject, this hypothesis could be true.

References

Tolkien, J. R. R. (1954) The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers. George Allen & Unwin.

Martin, L. (2000) The Four Most Important Equations In Clinical Practice. Available: http://dwb4.unl.edu/Chem/CHEM869V/CHEM869VLinks/www.mtsinai.org/pulmonary/papers/eq/eqal.html [Accessed 13/03/2015].

University of California Regents (2003) iROCKET Learning Module: Intro to Arterial Blood Gases, Part 1. Available: http://missinglink.ucsf.edu/lm/abg/abg1/a_a_gradient.html [Accessed 13/03/2015].

MedlinePlus (2015) Blood gases, MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopaedia. Available: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003855.htm [Accessed 13/03/2015].

Downloads

How to Cite

Walker, R., & Cooper-Dunn, A. (2017). Does the Oxygen Content of Tolkien’s Middle Earth Allow for Greater Endurance?. Journal of Interdisciplinary Science Topics, 4. Retrieved from https://journals.le.ac.uk/index.php/jist/article/view/782

Issue

Vol. 4 (2015)

Section

Articles

License

This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.  All content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence (CC-BY 4.0).