Journey Into an Active Volcano | One Strange Rock

less than 1m read

·Nov 11, 2024

Ken Sims doesn't do nine-to-five. This is his idea of a good day at the office. For over 20 years, he's ventured into active volcanoes across the globe to collect samples of molten lava. Studying this stuff is one of the best ways to understand what's happening in the center of the Earth and the process that protects us from the Sun.

Pretty much that whole bottom terrace now is completely covered in brand-new lava flows. Yeah, with the new lava flow coming around against the wall there, we'll have to watch out. The lava is intensely hot, roughly 2,000 degrees. It will burn pretty much anything on contact.

"Okay, heading over. I'll go over just towards the edge here; we'll have a look."

"Whoa, holy! It's just opened up on that side, hasn't it?"

"Yeah, totally. Whoa! Now can I’m pretty certain that there is absolutely no way we are going down there. That is without doubt mission impossible."

"Okay, well, they're wrong. Cancel admission. Just anybody with half a brain wouldn't go down there."

The new vent means Ken can't take samples from the lake, but he doesn't need to. The vent is firing fresh lava right at it. "There's a lot of lava bombs around here; it's just covered with bombs."

"Wow! I can see the vent from here. It's really rocking and rolling." [Music]

Knock Knock, You’re Busted | Drugs, Inc.

Nullius in Verba

View All

Car Cannibals | Dirty Rotten Survival

Here’s the deal, fellas. The challenge for tonight: we’re going to cannibalize the vehicles, in some way, shape, or form, to take things with us that will make us more comfortable to camp. Take anything we want off it. Ex: yes, you can take anything off t…

Homeroom with Sal and Regina Ross - Tuesday, March 8

Hi everyone, Sal Khan here from Khan Academy. Happy International Women’s Day! In honor of International Women’s Day, we have a special guest, someone who I know quite well, Khan Academy’s Chief People Officer, Regina Ross. We’re going to talk about her j…

Worked example: Approximation with local linearity | AP Calculus AB | Khan Academy

We’re told the function ( f ) is twice differentiable with ( f(2) = 1 ), ( f’(2) = 4 ), and ( f”(2) = 3 ). What is the value of the approximation of ( f(1.9) ) using the line tangent to the graph of ( f ) at ( x = 2 )? So pause this video and see if you c…

Kevin O’Leary’s Guide to SURVIVING THE INFLATION | Mr. Wonderful visits Good Day New York

Rent, groceries, even the cost of heating your home is skyrocketing. Everything seems more expensive these days. So what can be done to save a little money? There’s only one person to talk to: Mr. Wonderful. He’s an entrepreneur; you know him from Shark T…

Getting The Shot - Behind the Scenes | Life Below Zero

[Music] Working, that’s getting super frustrating. This is what it’s like on Life Below Zero: down tough conditions all around, a filament, no heat, no power, do anything, won’t even turn on, and falling too many times we have balance. It’s just a typical…

Seagrass and the Ecosystem | When Sharks Attack

In 2019, the North Carolina coastline is in the grip of a disturbing string of shark attacks. Two different species, bowls and black tips, have attacked four swimmers in little more than six weeks. The cause is a mystery. The final piece of the puzzle mig…

Journey Into an Active Volcano | One Strange Rock

More Articles