To gain an understanding of how the body reacts to these conditions, an in vitro experiment is carried out, with the results leading to a new field of comfort specific to the protagonist. The values are however not to be used strictly as they do not consider activity, occupancy, time, season, social influences and more.
Sound
The protagonist’s perception of sound was tested by recording the lowest volume they were able to detect for a given frequency. The volume of the sound source was gradually increased until the protagonist could hear it. We can then compare these results to the accepted range of human hearing, shown in the field of comfort diagram, in order to determine how sensitive the protagonist is to noise in comparison. This test was performed for when the distance between the protagonist and source was zero, and then again when the distance was increased to one metre.
Light
The protagonist’s ability to adapt to changes in light, such as a transition from a naturally lit space to a darker enclosed one, were assessed by recording the time taken for the eyes to adjust. The protagonist shut and covered their eyes for twenty minutes to simulate complete darkness. Then, they opened and uncovered their eyes and called out when their eyes had adjusted enough to read the sentence on the piece of paper. The time at which they called out was recorded. This test was performed for several different light levels.
Temperature
The protagonist’s sensitivity to changes in temperature were measured by recording the times at which they were able to perceive changes in their extremities (fingers or toes) and the rest of their body. The experiment consisted of doing a heating phase and a cooling phase. The temperature was gradually increased and decreased respectively. The times and temperatures when changes were perceived were recorded.
