GoPro gets melted by lava and survives

[Cal Jeffrey]

A tour guide in Hawaii lost his GoPro camera in a lava flow but when he fished it out later, he was surprised to find that it had survived.

Eric Storm runs a guide business called Kilauea EcoGuides which tours the Kilauea volcano on Hawaii. He was guiding a group about 16 months ago when he decided to place his GoPro in a fissure to film the lava flowing down the crack.

He was telling a story to the tourists and had forgotten about the camera – until it caught on fire.

He told PetaPixel, "[Later] I used a geology rock hammer to pull it out of the lava and thought it was a total loss."

However, after getting the camera back home and chiseling off the hardened rock, he noticed the Wi-Fi light was blinking. He pulled out the SD card, and the video was fully intact, even up to and after being covered with molten lava.

"The camera even still worked although not a well as it did before," he said. "Truly amazing it survived!"

GoPro cameras have always been known for their rugged nature. They are the go-to choice for anybody that needs a camera that can survive a tumble down a snowy mountain or a plunge into a lake. I don't think engineers intended for it to ever have to face off with a volcano but the fact that it survived does say a lot about the camera's durability.

Video and Image courtesy PetaPixel

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/71814-found-gopro-gets-melted-lava-survives.html

 

[IAMTHESTIG]

Awesome...

 

[cliffordcooley]

I bet you can't do this with an iPhone.

Sorry had to do it for all the Apple fans. lol

 

[wiyosaya]

If the body has a large amount of carbon in it, I could see that it would survive. Carbon has an extremely high melting point, and, if I am not mistaken, there is no known element that has a higher melting temperature.

Then again, the picture looks as if the camera was not completely covered, so that would mean that it never experienced the full effect of the lava. That is another case where I could see that it survived, and the fact that it did survive is not necessarily all that remarkable, IMO.

 

[gusticles41]

Then again, the picture looks as if the camera was not completely covered, so that would mean that it never experienced the full effect of the lava. That is another case where I could see that it survived, and the fact that it did survive is not necessarily all that remarkable, IMO.

Molten lava reaches temperatures of 1,292 to 2,192 °F according to Google. The fact the thing can be anywhere near this and still have working components is impressive to me.

 

[wiyosaya]

Then again, the picture looks as if the camera was not completely covered, so that would mean that it never experienced the full effect of the lava. That is another case where I could see that it survived, and the fact that it did survive is not necessarily all that remarkable, IMO.

Molten lava reaches temperatures of 1,292 to 2,192 °F according to Google. The fact the thing can be anywhere near this and still have working components is impressive to me.

Carbon will only melt at something like 5,500 °F. There are quite a few other elements that have to be considered. I also think that carbon has a very low thermal conductivity - which would prevent the transfer of heat to the interior. It looks cool, but the physics of it, at least to me anyway, are not all that impressive.

 

[mailpup]

If the body has a large amount of carbon in it, I could see that it would survive. Carbon has an extremely high melting point, and, if I am not mistaken, there is no known element that has a higher melting temperature.

Maybe you are talking about pure elemental carbon but the camera case is made of a carbon compound, namely plastic, which will have a lower melting point than pure elements.

 

[Gars]

heh
iPhone 6 (and above) can do it in the microwave oven and recharging in the same time

its very sad that the apple os is based on darwin

 

[wiyosaya]

Maybe you are talking about pure elemental carbon but the camera case is made of a carbon compound, namely plastic, which will have a lower melting point than pure elements.

I agree, though it depends on how much plastic is in it

 

[Kibaruk]

You also have to consider how much it should've cooled off on "transit" and that the camera only got some of it, as it was covered mostly by the rock itself and it was not actually dunked in lava as the story -and topic- makes you believe.