Don’t try this experiment at home! Recently, a group of research scientists in New York State recently re-created lava in the lab. Making and testing lava in a lab certainly sounds like something you would envision a mad scientist doing, but the reason why they did this is actually very good (although I’m sure they definitely had some fun with it).
How to Re-Create Lava
Just how did these scientists at the University at Buffalo re-create lava? It’s really quite simple – rocks made from lava are all over the world. These rocks are basically just “frozen” lava that was once a raging hot liquid inside a volcano or something similar. These scientists simply took basalt rock (one of the types of rocks associated with volcanoes) and melted it. Of course, melting a rock takes a lot of heat: 2,400° F in an induction furnace.
What Was Tested?
Volcanoes and water often go together – sometimes creating very explosive results and other times they can be relatively calm. These scientists wanted to discover when lava would react the most dramatically with water. Once melted they poured the lava into insulated steel boxes of different heights. Then they shot water jets into these boxes at different levels and different speeds. Then they put pressure on the pillar of lava from the top using a special plunger and hammer to encourage an eruption. The eruption was the most dramatic when the water was shot in at a deeper level inside the lava (with more of the pillar of lava above the water). At least one foot of lava above the water seemed to be the sweet spot in this experiment.
Why Did Lava Act This Way?
While we really don’t know for sure why this happened, one of the scientists on the team, Ingo Sonder, has a theory. He thinks that because of the super intense heat and pressure being under a tall pillar of lava, the water does something unusual. Imagine that the water turns into a giant bubble or blob when it’s shot into the lava. The outer shell of that bubble turns into steam while the inside of the bubble is still liquid water. As long as there’s not too much heat or pressure or speed coming into the lava, the water will stay more contained in it’s “shell” of vapor. But, when there’s a tall pillar of lava above it and the water shoots in super-fast, it “breaks” the vapor shell and mixes more with the lava, creating a bigger eruption. Of course, this is just a theory, but it’s very cool to hear about!
Why Did they do this?
Why create lava in the lab in the first place? It’s not just for fun! The more we can learn about how lava, volcanoes, and water act together, the better predictions scientists can make about volcanoes. Many people live near volcanoes and just like accurate hurricane predictions can help people know when it’s safe and when they need to evacuate, more accurate volcano predictions can help save the lives of many people.
What Can I Learn From This?
To be completely honest, I’m a little bit of a mad scientist myself – I think that volcanoes are fascinating. Maybe you do, too. Dangerous volcanoes that put people’s lives at risk are no good, though. Natural disasters like this weren’t part of God’s originally created, “very good” Earth. These things are the result of Earth going downhill because of our sin. Even though we humans messed things up, God is still so good and gracious to us. He has given us the special ability to learn about the world around us through science. Studying volcanoes is a great way to do that! Always remember the more you learn about the world around you the more you can fulfill God’s destiny for you.
References
Scientists brew lava and blow it up to better understand volcanoes. Science Daily. December 10, 2018. Source: University at Buffalo. Last accessed 1/30/2019 https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/12/181210105410.htm
