homehome Home chatchat Notifications


Stunning Images of People Stepping on Lava

The floor is lava – no stepping on it! Well, that clearly wouldn’t stop this guy… The thing is that most people don’t realize that lava is really viscous – lava is not like water, where you just step on it and sink in (despite what some movies might show you). Also, the very outside […]

Mihai Andrei
December 15, 2014 @ 1:03 pm

share Share

The floor is lava – no stepping on it! Well, that clearly wouldn’t stop this guy…

Gif via reddit

The thing is that most people don’t realize that lava is really viscous – lava is not like water, where you just step on it and sink in (despite what some movies might show you). Also, the very outside of the lava bed is in direct contact with air, so it’s much cooler than the inside part of the lava. Also, the small flame you see is actually the man’s shoe burning, not the lava. The cooler the lava gets, the more solid it becomes – so that when it completely cools off, it turns into rock.

This actually appears to have been a PR stunt, but it’s pretty cool nonetheless. As you can see, the lava itself is not burning, but everything else is.

This is how lava is collected… because sometimes, you just want a fresh batch of lava.

share Share

Chilling and Uneasy: The Untethered Spacewalk That Redefined Exploration

In 1984, astronaut Bruce McCandless II made history—and defied human instinct—by stepping into the vast void of space untethered.

These God dammed goats will make you question what you know about gravity

Can you spot the goats? Oh and... can you explain the goats?

Pluto in Focus: From Pixelated Smudge to Stunning, Geology-Rich World

NASA’s New Horizons mission revolutionized our view of Pluto, revealing a vibrant, geologically active world full of surprises.

From Wood to Rock: The Fascinating Process of Petrified Wood

Just like a number of creatures, wood can fossilize too.

The fascinating history (and science) of the freezing of Niagara Falls

Niagara doesn't completely freeze, per se. But big chunks of it

Picture of the day: fluorescent chicken embryo

This is a picture of a chicken embryo being fed through fluorescent-labeled blood vessels from the yolk.

Hubble captures dramatic outburst of space "volcano"

A binary system of a red giant and white dwarf is creating a spectacular show in R Aquarii.

The stunning history of the Fukang Pallasite meteorite

In the year 2,000, a Chinese dealer purchased an unusual-looking rock weighing around a ton. He cleaned it off, removing 20 kilograms (44 lb) from it, and then took the rock (a gleaming mass of crystals and iron) to a Gem and Mineral Show in Tucson, Arizona. At the show, Dr. Dante Lauretta, a professor […]

The stunning trail of darkness left behind by hurricane Helene

This was the deadliest hurricane to hit the United States since Maria in 2017

From Mafia Squirrels to Smooching Owlets: 'Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards' Reveals Hilarious Animal Photos

Smiling seals and crash-landing birds raise awareness for conservation through comedy.