What is a Bigfoot Dewar?
Alcor’s patients are kept in liquid nitrogen, which is very cold. To prevent both the patient and the liquid nitrogen from warming up, they are kept in a giant stainless steel Thermos bottle called a Bigfoot Dewar or simply a Bigfoot. Each Bigfoot is a double-layered giant cup that is 10′ 6″ tall and 43″ in diameter. A vacuum and reflective surfaces between the inner and outer layers prevent heat from entering. This concept was invented by Sir James Dewar in 1892 and has been used ever since both by picnickers and scientists to keep hot things hot and cold things cold. (John Dewar, who brought us Dewar’s Scotch Whiskey, was a different person). Alcor’s Bigfoot Dewars have a wide mouth so that patients can be easily added and removed using a special crane. They have a 24″ deep Styrofoam plug that fits into the top to keep heat from entering. Each Bigfoot Dewar can hold four whole body patients and five neuropatients. Each whole body patient occupies one pie-shaped quadrant of the Dewar.
