A daring experiment involving a man tossing an object into a supposedly "dormant" volcano, effectively awakening its lava flow has gone viral online in recent weeks.
As the captured footage continues, two people are seen at the cliff's edge, with one individual tossing an unidentified object into the volcano's crater. The object descends, making contact with the crust covering the seething lava beneath. Gradually, the lava begins to surge and flames shoot into the air.
Initially, the lava flows calmly, but the pressure mounts as the object's impact widens the opening in the crust. Within seconds, the volcano becomes highly active, all due to the object's interaction with the molten lake. It's revealed that this entire endeavour was part of a study to understand the consequences of a person falling into the lava from a significant height.
Watch the experiment here:
According to reports, the object hurled into the active Ethiopian volcano, Erta Ale, was a 30 kg bundle of organic waste, chosen for its similarity to human physiology and expected reactions when subjected to the intense heat.
The video's creator provides insight into the age-old debate regarding whether one can sink into lava. Normally, due to lava's high density, individuals would remain on the surface, and with proper heat-protective gear, one might even walk short distances atop certain types of lava. However, the video demonstrates that a large object or a person falling from a height can penetrate the crust of a lava lake and submerge within.
Further elaboration in the video reveals that the experiment employed a 30 kg cardboard box filled with camp waste, including discarded food scraps, and measured 60x60x60 cm. The object was thrown from a height of approximately 80 meters.
In conclusion, lava exhibits remarkable thickness, density, and viscosity—approximately 100,000 times that of water. Consequently, there is a reasonable chance that a person falling into lava might initially float before eventually sinking.
However, the temperature of lava, ranging from at least 700 degrees to possibly 1,200 degrees, ensures an inevitable and swift demise within seconds due to the extreme heat.