Ok here's the argument. I will not tell my side as not to be biased. A buddy of mine and I got into a heated debate of this after discussing cheap Hollywood disaster movies ie. Dante's Peak. It is to the point now that if there were lava in Raleigh, we would drive through it to get to the bottom of this quandry.

The situation is there is a lava flow 10 feet wide and 6 inches deep.

The question is: can you drive a jeep or other truck with 1/4" skid plating and standard mud terrains across/through such lava when you only enter the lava at 5mph (or roughly 7 feet per second) and accelerate or attempt to accelerate after one-half of the vehicle has entered the lava?

The question is not if the jeep or truck will be in good condition or drivable afterwords, but only if it would make it across.

Your help is appreciated.

2/15/2006 2:53:59 AM

no.


I'm a geologist.


[/thread]

2/15/2006 2:55:31 AM

what if the lava was flowing in the opposite direction to the Jeep at the exact same speed of its tires???

2/15/2006 2:56:59 AM

i said [/thread], but i retract it until someone can answer ^'s question!!!!!1

2/15/2006 2:57:43 AM

tires melt end

2/15/2006 4:13:11 AM

yeah, isn't lava like 2,000 degrees fahrenheit?

2/15/2006 4:26:44 AM

Smath, do they have specialized vehicles that can do this for short periods of time? I remember seeing something on TV where they had specialized boats that can sit on those acid lakes for a short period of time.

2/15/2006 5:40:28 AM

Quote :

"what if the lava was flowing in the opposite direction to the Jeep at the exact same speed of its tires???"

my sentiments exactly

2/15/2006 7:55:15 AM

If a train leaves the station in Raleigh, headed for Chicago going 58 miles per hour....

2/15/2006 9:09:27 AM

no

your tires would instantly pop and the rims would get caught in the lava

cause it's sticky as hell

2/15/2006 9:10:45 AM

haha

you dont have to be a geologist to answer this

you just have to have common sense

but go ahead and try it,....you will come out fine

2/15/2006 9:11:15 AM

Quote :

"but go ahead and try it,....you will come out fire"

2/15/2006 9:47:56 AM

we discussed this in class (i beleive geology) and the answer was most certainly no.

2/15/2006 9:53:13 AM

Please go try this.... Then we can all watch, point, and laugh.

Seriously.

2/15/2006 9:57:59 AM

you guys are all idiots

i've done this PLENTY of times

2/15/2006 10:02:15 AM

if jesus walks on water, can the devil walk on lava?

2/15/2006 10:11:12 AM

i cannot believe this was really a question...
i mean damn

2/15/2006 10:22:00 AM

temperature of lava ~2000 degress F
melting point of typical vulcanized rubber: few hundred degrees F (varies depending on composition and the process conditions)

2/15/2006 10:28:34 AM

BUT WHAT IF YOU WERE DRIVING A BILLION MPH AND JUST TOUCHED THE TIP OF THE LAVA?

2/15/2006 10:29:32 AM

just the tip

2/15/2006 10:42:01 AM

LAVA IS JUST WARM MUD

I HAVE MUDDING TIRES

2/15/2006 10:43:42 AM

wtf are you the master of? you are a fool

2/15/2006 10:47:43 AM

Not only would your car not make it, but the driver would likely die.

2/15/2006 11:10:33 AM

what if you put the car in neutral and pushed it across?

2/15/2006 11:18:57 AM

BUT that GUY IN VOLCANO DIDN'T DIE. THE GUY THAT WAS IN MIB, TOO.

2/15/2006 11:19:41 AM

holy shit, is this for real?

2/15/2006 11:34:43 AM

"wtf are you the master of?"

your mom...and she said it was possible when i was asking her, but her voice was kinda muffled by the pillow...


but i agree, i think there is no way it would be possible, however, my buddy says that the car would only be exposed to the lava for approximately 2 seconds and before it was out, and that a swamp tire with all the rubber/steel that it is made of would be able to withstand the heat just long enough to make it across, and that even if they did pop, the car could still finish the job with the rims/melted tires....i call bullshit

2/15/2006 11:50:59 AM

Quote :

"1/4" skid plating "

wtf did skid plating have to do w/ anything?

2/15/2006 11:57:07 AM

Lava: 4
Car: 0

2/15/2006 12:08:33 PM

now, if it were the general lee we were talking about, it could jump completely over the lava, and it would be fine.

2/15/2006 12:12:04 PM

^ So could Knight Rider, Knight Rider2000, or a Trans-Am driven by Burt Reynolds or some girl that he is fucking.

2/15/2006 12:13:49 PM

yah. especially the burt reynolds thing.

2/15/2006 12:16:12 PM

wow those cars arent melted

they must have hovered in place when the lava reached take-off speed

2/15/2006 12:54:31 PM

shit


if only they had skid plating

2/15/2006 12:56:18 PM

If you were going 120 I have a hard time believing that momentum and the metal wouldn't be enough to make it across

But, if you hit it with enough speed, I would think there would be some splash up under tha car and that might have adverse effects too.

2/15/2006 12:58:24 PM

you do realize that lava is melted rock



rock is heavy



there will be less "splash" and more "plowing" and "death"

2/15/2006 1:03:47 PM

yeah but it wouldn't have to splash high to hit the undercarriage

Where's the gas tank located, do you think that could blow up?

2/15/2006 1:05:49 PM

gas tank is under the rear of the car, exposed

gas doesnt blow up.. but the vapors will

at 120mph you might make it across a small river of it. but you'll probably be tumbling end over end in a ball of flame

[Edited on February 15, 2006 at 1:10 PM. Reason : ha]

2/15/2006 1:08:37 PM

you do realize that lava is very very very hot, right?


you can burn to death just from being close to lava...im sure it wouldnt take more than a second or two for the gas in the tank to explode from the heat

2/15/2006 1:09:23 PM

not to mention melting any wiring too

2/15/2006 1:11:40 PM

what is the driver wearing?

2/15/2006 1:12:35 PM

Consider a spherical jeep sliding along frictionless lava ...

2/15/2006 1:27:57 PM

What about a golf cart?

2/15/2006 1:29:58 PM

lava is sticky too

plowing into it is going to be like plowing into VERY thick mud

2/15/2006 1:31:04 PM

this sounds like the making for a great episode of "Myth Busters" on TLC!

2/15/2006 1:31:13 PM

A honda would do better than a jeep 'cause they're powered by HOT LAVA already

2/15/2006 1:32:20 PM

Quote :

"no. I'm a geologist. [/thread]"

Although I am not a geologist.

[Edited on February 15, 2006 at 1:35 PM. Reason : .]

2/15/2006 1:34:40 PM

Quote :

"specialized boats that can sit on those acid lakes for a short period of time."

there are lakes of acid???


ROAD TRIP

2/15/2006 1:38:07 PM

no

2/15/2006 1:58:10 PM

1. go out to some pacific rim island where an eruption has been declared imminent
2. wait on said eruption
3. try it
4. profit die

2/15/2006 2:00:22 PM