Post created by Amanda
In almost any movie, the directors try to make the plot as exciting and suspenseful as possible in order to keep their audiences interested. In doing this though, the creators of most movies tend to include some pretty unrealistic scenes, especially when it comes to how the human body responds to external environments. One of the lesser thought of examples of this is movies where the characters have to interact with lava. This is seen in several movies, one being the well-known The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, where the characters are seen fighting inside an active volcano and the two main characters – Frodo and Bilbo – escape virtually unscathed. And though this makes for a very intense movie that puts you on the edge of your seat… it’s not very accurate (6 Deadly Injuries You Only Survive in the Movies).
In reality, lava can reach temperatures over 2000° F, and though its exposure to the air and other elements can cool it off very quickly, the lava also has drastic effects on the air itself (How Hot Can Lava Get?). The heat that lava radiates into the surroundings can be so intense that air rises to reach extreme temperatures, and when you consider that Frodo and Bilbo were inside a volcano where the air can’t spread out as much, this means that the air surrounding them would be much hotter than it would be if you were standing out in the open (How Hot Is an Active Volcano? What Temperature Is the Lava?). This effect is magnified when you consider that in a normal house fire, the room temperature can get up to 600° F, and inhaling this “super-hot air will scorch your lungs” as well as “melt your clothes to your skin. In five minutes a room can get so hot that everything in it ignites at once…” (Facts About Fire). Since lava is several times as hot as a house fire, it seems reasonable that the air around lava could get much hotter than 600° F, so if you are anywhere near lava you “will combust; your skin will rupture and become blackened by the severe heat of the gas” (This Is How A Volcano's Pyroclastic Flow Will Kill You). Why this occurs to your body is mainly due to the large amount of proteins that you consist of. We don’t really think of the role proteins play in our body much, but there are actually over 10,000 types of these highly complex, specially shaped molecules found in “everything from your organs to your muscles and tissues to your bones, skin, and hair,” and they also function to “make enzymes, hormones, and other body chemicals” (Protein: Why Your Body Needs It). What makes proteins so special is that they are held together by hydrogen bonds, but when they are exposed to extreme heat these bonds can break and the precious protein molecules become denatured, or “deform and unravel” (Protein: Acid denaturation). These deformed proteins won’t be able to function or bind to other molecules properly, and when this occurs rapidly over your entire body, death is imminent.
When we relate this to Frodo and Bilbo’s situation, we see that there would be no way they could survive their adventure in the active volcano. The intense lava close below them and the scorching hot air circulating in the almost entirely enclosed space would make their body temperatures rise dangerously high, quickly breaking down their body’s proteins and ensuring they wouldn’t be leaving there alive.
Andrews, R. (2018, June 04). This Is How A Volcano's Pyroclastic Flow Will Kill You. Retrieved November 10, 2020, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/robinandrews/2017/01/08/this-is-how-a-volcanos-pyroclastic-flow-will-kill-you/?sh=70d34b5032cd
DennisHong. (2010, November 24). 6 Deadly Injuries You Only Survive in the Movies (Update). Retrieved November 10, 2020, from https://www.cracked.com/article_18862_6-deadly-injuries-you-think-youd-survive-thanks-to-movies.html
FACTS ABOUT FIRE: Understanding how fire can kill without warning. (2016, January 14). Retrieved November 10, 2020, from https://yakimafire.com/facts-about-fire-characteristics-of-fire/
Lindemon, M. (2020, March 05). How Hot Is an Active Volcano? What Temperature Is the Lava? Retrieved November 10, 2020, from https://heavy.com/entertainment/2020/03/how-hot-volcano-temperature-
Protein: Acid denaturation. (2019, July 17). Retrieved November 10, 2020, from https://www.ifst.org/lovefoodlovescience/resources/protein-acid-denaturation
Ray, C. (2018, May 18). How Hot Can Lava Get? Retrieved November 10, 2020, from
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/18/science/magma-lava-volcano.html
Zelman, K. (2020, October 12). Protein: Why Your Body Needs It. Retrieved November 10, 2020, from https://www.webmd.com/diet/benefits-protein