How long?
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How long?
Zombies start breaking apart with out ppe.....how long till you'd say the vast majority stop having enough to "eat" and die off....a horde can't live on alley cats alone so massive population centers covered in hordes will run out of food first. Id say large swaths of undead decomposing in say 5 years.
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azazel1024
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Re: How long?
According to the book, I think it is roughly 10-20 years for active zombies, about 50 years if the zombie is in suspend mode most/all of the time before the decay away and if they are in a cold enough climate to freeze up while inactive, effectively an eternity.
Those times are roughly from the time of last PPE absorbtion. Even assuming no humans around, the occasional zombie is going to lay it's decaying flesh on a rat, or cat or horse or dog or bird or something even in a major city. Since most times the level of PPE isn't likely going to be enough to entirely regenerate them, it won't be indeffinite.
I don't recall if the books touched on it, but I'd assume that zombies in high heat and humidity environments would decay faster, maybe call it twice as fast for the heck of it.
All that said, it's going to be a long time before the majority of them decay away to nothingness.
Those times are roughly from the time of last PPE absorbtion. Even assuming no humans around, the occasional zombie is going to lay it's decaying flesh on a rat, or cat or horse or dog or bird or something even in a major city. Since most times the level of PPE isn't likely going to be enough to entirely regenerate them, it won't be indeffinite.
I don't recall if the books touched on it, but I'd assume that zombies in high heat and humidity environments would decay faster, maybe call it twice as fast for the heck of it.
All that said, it's going to be a long time before the majority of them decay away to nothingness.
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Razzinold
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Re: How long?
10-20 years ? Well there goes the "wait for them to starve to death plan", lol just kidding. Most humans would be lucky to survive 20 years in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. I like the idea I read in a book (world war z I think), it was to go somewhere cold (i think they were in the mountains) and once they freeze like statues, smash them all before they thaw in spring.
Re: How long?
Razzinold wrote:10-20 years ? Well there goes the "wait for them to starve to death plan", lol just kidding. Most humans would be lucky to survive 20 years in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. I like the idea I read in a book (world war z I think), it was to go somewhere cold (i think they were in the mountains) and once they freeze like statues, smash them all before they thaw in spring.
zombies are at room temp so if they are out doors id say more than an hour below freezing there speed would be reduced by half per hour till it was a .5 or less....at that time they are solid. gotta wait for thaw to attack, indoors there own rot would make some warmth and alot of them packed togeather would not start loosing speed till 0 degrees F or less....
That said id say if you start shooting at half frozen zombies id say they dont get their AR since rounds would shear extra flesh away
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azazel1024
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Re: How long?
Going by WWZ and "real life" if the zombies obeyed physics, they'd freeze solid (core below 32F) in roughly 8-14hrs if they started at 65F and were exposed to 20F temperatures. They'd be slowed down in just a couple of hours as limbs would lose temperaure much faster.
According to the DR books however, and active zombie WILL NOT FREEZE unless it goes in to its torpid/inactive/suspend state. That bit I don't really like about the books also. I think we can give a bit of supernaturalness to the zombies (because its fun), but if one can freeze when in its suspend state, it should be able to freeze even when active. I think you could argue a bit that because they are moving around, it generates a bit of muscle heat, makes it hard for the flesh to truely freeze, a bit of anti-freeze effect of whatever it is that makes them zombies, etc...but in the end, I feel like if it is below roughly 15-25F, they are going to freeze solid after awhile. So a "brief" below freezing won't do it.
Like say you'd experience in most of the mid atlantic states in the winter time, where night time temps drop to maybe 20F or so at night, but day time temps tend to be more like 40F. They might freeze up occasionally when a real cold front blows in and night time temps hit single digits and day time temps are mid 20s, but they'd likely thaw up within a day or two once the cold front blew past and temps were back in to the 30's during the day time.
Of course places where the temperature NEVER drops below freezing or only occasionally dips a bit below freezing, the zombies would never freeze up.
Also in sheltered places, like inside of homes or buildings that were intact or relatively intact, even with a real cold front the zombies may not freeze as the building will act as a thermal sink when the temperatures were warmer. So even without heating/power, a house with windows intact with 2-3 days of 20F average temperatures, but a normal average temperature of 30F, might only see temperatures dip to mid 20's, possibly keeping the zombie thawed (maybe slowed).
Even with windows busted out, the interior of a building is going to maintain a slightly higher temperature on average due to being a thermal sink during the day time hours averaging the temperature more as well as reflecting IR back due to sheltering effect (though wouldn't be as good as an intact building).
So even in an environment where zombies are freezing because of a cold front, or even where the average temperature results in zombies freezing, it is possible that you may find the occasional active, unfrozen zombie inside of a building (though places where the temperatures average REALLY cold, such as most of Canada, the non-costal US north, Alaska, Siberia, etc the zombies are going to freeze inside, unless the building has active heating).
According to the DR books however, and active zombie WILL NOT FREEZE unless it goes in to its torpid/inactive/suspend state. That bit I don't really like about the books also. I think we can give a bit of supernaturalness to the zombies (because its fun), but if one can freeze when in its suspend state, it should be able to freeze even when active. I think you could argue a bit that because they are moving around, it generates a bit of muscle heat, makes it hard for the flesh to truely freeze, a bit of anti-freeze effect of whatever it is that makes them zombies, etc...but in the end, I feel like if it is below roughly 15-25F, they are going to freeze solid after awhile. So a "brief" below freezing won't do it.
Like say you'd experience in most of the mid atlantic states in the winter time, where night time temps drop to maybe 20F or so at night, but day time temps tend to be more like 40F. They might freeze up occasionally when a real cold front blows in and night time temps hit single digits and day time temps are mid 20s, but they'd likely thaw up within a day or two once the cold front blew past and temps were back in to the 30's during the day time.
Of course places where the temperature NEVER drops below freezing or only occasionally dips a bit below freezing, the zombies would never freeze up.
Also in sheltered places, like inside of homes or buildings that were intact or relatively intact, even with a real cold front the zombies may not freeze as the building will act as a thermal sink when the temperatures were warmer. So even without heating/power, a house with windows intact with 2-3 days of 20F average temperatures, but a normal average temperature of 30F, might only see temperatures dip to mid 20's, possibly keeping the zombie thawed (maybe slowed).
Even with windows busted out, the interior of a building is going to maintain a slightly higher temperature on average due to being a thermal sink during the day time hours averaging the temperature more as well as reflecting IR back due to sheltering effect (though wouldn't be as good as an intact building).
So even in an environment where zombies are freezing because of a cold front, or even where the average temperature results in zombies freezing, it is possible that you may find the occasional active, unfrozen zombie inside of a building (though places where the temperatures average REALLY cold, such as most of Canada, the non-costal US north, Alaska, Siberia, etc the zombies are going to freeze inside, unless the building has active heating).