Science Gone Wild: Watch What Happens When Acid Takes on Lava

Summary:

• Mark Rober is known for his fascinating and dangerous experiments.
• Inviting TheBackyardScientist and NileRed, he tried to compare which is more powerful: lava or acid?
• The result was one of the most epic experiments in the history of science YouTube.

Science is not always a stultifying theory that only avid enthusiasts can enjoy. When it comes to applied physics or chemistry, empiricism proves time and time again that scientific knowledge is not only all around us, but that it can be incredibly fun to practice!

But what could be more fun than studying which materials can or cannot withstand the unbridled force of rocks heated to incredible temperatures, or how quickly an object can dissolve when exposed to a certain acid? To compare which is more powerful, lava or acid, of course!

The Most Destructive Youtubers Compare the Power of Lava and Acid

Popular YouTuber Mark Rober, a former NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory engineer who worked on the Mars Curiosity Rover and is known for his crazy science experiments, released a new wild video on November 18 that has been viewed more than 16.5 million times. As part of the new experiment, he invited two equally crazy science popularizers known for their epic but sometimes very dangerous videos. One was Kevin, aka TheBackyardScientist, who likes to work with molten rock. The other was Nile Red, a Canadian science YouTuber who specializes in unusual experiments in applied chemistry.

Both took part in a competition to see which was more destructive: lava or acid. The video consists of seven challenges in which the guys had to destroy turkey legs, IPads, ice, a toy town (rest in peace, sweet Lego townspeople), a baseball bat, a 1.2-carat diamond, and even working cars. At the same time, Mark acted as a competitor, using his 'wild cards' to compare destructiveness, whether it was Kevin's 2000-watt laser, a flamethrower, or a literal excavator.

Which Was More Destructive?

The experiments went pretty much as expected: they were epic and devastating. However, some of the results were striking. While the turkey legs were destroyed fairly quickly in both cases, with the ice, the temperature of the frozen water prevented the lava from melting a hole in even one of the ice plates, while the acid mixed with the water created an exothermic reaction that made holes in each plate instantly.

But the most dangerous of all was the final challenge, in which the Youtubers had to destroy cars. The result surprised everyone: the destructive heated mixture of hydrochloric and nitric acid, which can dissolve gold, only slightly damaged the Honda's engine, which continued to run perfectly. On the contrary, 4 gallons of lava were enough to stop the car in a few seconds. Based on the results of each experiment, Kevin's lava won.

Mark explained each step thoroughly. For example, that plastic is not corroded by all possible acids because the structure of polymers does not allow them to decompose, which in turn explains why plastic takes so long to decompose in nature. Along with the entertainment, the audience got a very fascinating scientific background!