Lava is dangerous

[Fetus4188]

linky

..."There appeared to have been an explosion that was centered on the stove top. There were glass fragments all over, embedded in the walls," said Paul Petersen, a Kent police spokesman. ...

Note to self: Don't put lamp on stove.

 

[Padma]

Sounds like a candidate for a Darwin Award.

 

[Chieftess]

Sounds like a candidate for a Darwin Award.

Or a future "Urban Myth" on Mythbusters that turns out to be true.

 

[Cuivienen]

A dollar says that the lamp had been off for a while and he was trying to warm it up quickly to make it work immediately.

 

[Souron]

I actually find this surprising. Wax, although flamible, generally does not exploded. Neither does the water, the metal or the glass.

I wonder why the thing exploded. Perhalps, pressure got built up at the bottom of the wax, but the top remained solid. Still, I am surprised.

 

[Fetus4188]

Heat causes things to expand. When those things are in a sealed and enclosed container (lava lamp) eventually the pressure overcomes the strength of the glass and KA-BOOM

 

[Souron]

Heat causes things to expand. When those things are in a sealed and enclosed container (lava lamp) eventually the pressure overcomes the strength of the glass and KA-BOOM

Yes, but as Cuivienen said, chances are the man was trying to heat the lava lamp faster. This would suggest the lava lamp never reached the point of working properly, much less heating so much that it explodes.

Also, I would think that the stregth of the glass is such that atleast the water would boil before the thing exploded. A lava lamp after all can get rather hot, without exploding.

Furthermore, most lava lamps have an air pocket that would contain much of the pressure.

 

[Fetus4188]

The boiling point of a substance can be substantially increased when it is under pressure.

 

[Jack the Ripper]

Yes, but as Cuivienen said, chances are the man was trying to heat the lava lamp faster. This would suggest the lava lamp never reached the point of working properly, much less heating so much that it explodes.

Also, I would think that the stregth of the glass is such that atleast the water would boil before the thing exploded. A lava lamp after all can get rather hot, without exploding.

Furthermore, most lava lamps have an air pocket that would contain much of the pressure.

The stuff in lava lamps is wax, which has a lower melting point than water has a boiling point (55-60 degrees C i believe), so the thing is not designed to withstand boiling water (100 degrees C). If it did reach boiling point, it would explode or crack in seconds. Even with an air pocket, there is no way in hell the pressure can be contained. A thimble-full of water creates more than enough steam to fill a 2 liter bottle, and how many thimble fulls of water are in a lava lamp?

Along with a Darwin Award, this method can be used in a James Bond movie. If Bond can drop a toaster into a bathtub, he can just as easily place a lava lamp on a hot stove. It would take out a lotta people too groucho

 

[PantheraTigris2]

I'll bet he was trying to heat it further than the internal bulb could - just to see what kind of 'more cool effect' it would have on the waxy liquid.

"Uh-huh-huh huh... hey, if that little amount of heat makes it do that... then I bet a lot more heat will make it really neat!"


Don't mess/screw around with high temperatures. A good rule, in general.

 

[GEChallenger]

Apparently the lack of a warning label is the reason for this... tradgedy.

 

[PantheraTigris2]

Well, there you have it - first Bush over-reacts to WMD threats abroad, but clearly he cannot see the WMD's that threaten the security of Americans right here at home. Clear'y, it really was all about oil.

 

[stratego]

Well, there you have it - first Bush over-reacts to WMD threats abroad, but clearly he cannot see the WMD's that threaten the security of Americans right here at home. Clear'y, it really was all about oil.

1) There are a dozen/hundreds/thousands/zillions of other thread around where you can bash Bush. Don't do it here.

2) I guess a person as liberal as you will never admit that Bush can't be wrong.

3) Excuse me while I puke

4) Sims suck

Have I gotten all the typical Conservative response to a post similar to the one above?

 

[PantheraTigris2]

1) There are a dozen/hundreds/thousands/zillions of other thread around where you can bash Bush. Don't do it here.

2) I guess a person as liberal as you will never admit that Bush can't be wrong.

3) Excuse me while I puke

4) Sims suck

Have I gotten all the typical Conservative response to a post similar to the one above?

1) Your sarcasm detector needs new batteries.

2) I'm about as conservative as anyone on this forum.

3) You are excused.

4) To each their own. I'm not even sure what you're talking about.

 

[Goober]

Well, that certainly sucks, but, was there a warning label? logic dictates that you would just plug it in, but, is there a warning label for those without logic?

And i dunno if this is quite Darwin material, close, but not quite there. If there was a warning label, then this is a Darwin with honours.

 

[The Last Conformist]

Definitive Darwin Award.

 

[mrtn]

I remember a warning label on mine.

 

[FearlessLeader2]

As the owner of a lava lamp, I have two things to add to this:

1) There is a warning in the usage/assembly instructions against using other devices to heat the lava tube.

2) He may have been trying to melt the little globs of wax that seperate from the main glob and stick to the sides, reducing the asthetic value of the lamp as a whole. I had considered trying to free up those bits of wax, but having read the warning labels, and, you know, some science books, I knew about Boyle's Law.

I will say this; I have decided that I will leave well enough alone insofar as my lava lamp goes.

 

[emzie]

I'll attempt to recreate this incident and report back my findings.

 

[Mise]

You mean there's not actually lava in lava lamps?! That's blatant false advertising...