[latebind (OP)]

Ok, so you are a new super scientist on the circuit, and you want to prove to your genius friends that you are brave and have what it takes to make it in this line of work, so naturally you go ahead and put hot lava into a bucket of liquid nitrogen.

So what happens next???

[neilep]

That's a wicked experiment !..and the very same one I would want to do to impress all my science friendly chums !

I suspect it will explode !...as far as the science is concerened...lets hope a passing 'burning-hot-lava-in-liquid-nitrogen' expert passes by and answers !

[LeeE]

I think a lot will depend upon the nature of the lava.  If the lava is very viscous, with cavities, then liquid nitrogen might enter the cavities before expanding, resulting in an explosion.  If it's very runny, like the stuff at Hawaii, then it'll probably just result in lots of boiling nitrogen, which would be likely to overflow from the vessel.

[lightarrow]

Ok, so you are a new super scientist on the circuit, and you want to prove to your genius friends that you are brave and have what it takes to make it in this line of work, so naturally you go ahead and put hot lava into a bucket of liquid nitrogen.

So what happens next???

The nitrogen will cool the surface of the vulcanic lump making it a thick vetrous barrier for heat, so you'll quickly have a nice glassy, cold container of liquid magma!
Then you could give it as food for sharks (in amazon, indios use the same principle, but heating pumpkins, instead... [])

[AllenG]

I think a lot will depend upon the nature of the lava.  If the lava is very viscous, with cavities, then liquid nitrogen might enter the cavities before expanding, resulting in an explosion.  If it's very runny, like the stuff at Hawaii, then it'll probably just result in lots of boiling nitrogen, which would be likely to overflow from the vessel.

I would expect this.

And I think the end product of using Pahoehoe (the runny stuff) would be a container filled with basically crushed glass.

[neilep]

what material is the bucket made from ?..can it be a regular metal bucket ?

[Karen W.]

I was on your wave length thinking the liquid nitrogen may have already damaged the bucket depending on its construction..so could they even have been meshed like that in a bucket.. and what reaction would the materials themselves have with the two combinations...?

[latebind (OP)]

Lets assume its an appropriate container. Bucket was the wrong word, I really just meant one of those metal things that look like big pots, you know the ones that are always being used to hold liquid nitrogen

One thing to consider as well, is that you have a choice of which lava you would like to put in there. Of course if you choose the wrong lava it could be your last experiment, so choose wisely.

[neilep]

Lets assume its an appropriate container. Bucket was the wrong word, I really just meant one of those metal things that look like big pots, you know the ones that are always being used to hold liquid nitrogen

One thing to consider as well, is that you have a choice of which lava you would like to put in there. Of course if you choose the wrong lava it could be your last experiment, so choose wisely.

Good thinking ...cos a bucket made from...say...belly button fluff would be a no no !...and ewe don't mean this kind of lava do ewe ?

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.......cos that just won't work either !

[lightarrow]

 []

[JimBob]

Gee. There could be a lot of fun here.

If you had a closed bucket with a tight fitting lid -

B A N G !


Just think of all that liquid rapidly expanding to gas. That is the method of most all explosions.

[latebind (OP)]

Lets assume its an appropriate container. Bucket was the wrong word, I really just meant one of those metal things that look like big pots, you know the ones that are always being used to hold liquid nitrogen

One thing to consider as well, is that you have a choice of which lava you would like to put in there. Of course if you choose the wrong lava it could be your last experiment, so choose wisely.

Good thinking ...cos a bucket made from...say...belly button fluff would be a no no !...and ewe don't mean this kind of lava do ewe ?

 [ Invalid Attachment ]


.......cos that just won't work either !

As far as I understand, belly button fluff has magical powers, so we can never rule out a magical fluff bucket!!

Also I believe the organism pictured is a la[r]va.

[yor_on]

It depends on how fast it freezes don't it?
I think LeeE is right there but I would expect it to get microscopic 'fracture lines' in the process too.

So, at what heat would something need to be to 'explode' before it freezes if dropped in liquid nitrogen?

[LeeE]

I don't think that a heated object itself is likely to explode as a result of rapid cooling, but rather it will be the coolant that might 'explode' due to rapid heating and expansion/phase change.

[ukmicky]

Dont know about Larva but thermite and  liquid nitrogen vid below

http://sciencehack.com/videos/view/Yex063_Fblk

Thermite won the battle

[yor_on]

Impressive and scary. "They burn with an extremely intense exothermic reaction when they are heated to ignition temperature. The products emerge as liquids due to the high temperatures reached (up to 2500 °C (4500 °F) with iron(III) oxide)—although the actual temperature reached depends on how quickly heat can escape to the surrounding environment. Thermite contains its own supply of oxygen and does not require any external source of air. Consequently, it cannot be smothered and may ignite in any environment, given sufficient initial heat. It will burn well while wet and cannot be easily extinguished with water, although enough water will remove heat and stop the reaction. Small amounts of water will boil before reaching the reaction. If thermite is ignited underwater, the molten iron produced will extract oxygen from water and generate hydrogen gas in a single-replacement reaction. This gas may, in turn, burn by combining with oxygen in the air." Thermite.

Reminds me of white phosphorus. phosphorus