Blue Lava Alert
April 16, 2021 9:30 AM Subscribe
Just posting some blue on the blue, as you do "That's the surreal hue of Indonesia's Kawah Ijen Volcano, which glows with an otherworldly 'blue lava' at night. The mountain contains large amounts of pure sulfur, which emits an icy violet color as it burns, turning the rocky slopes into a hot (at least 239 degrees Fahrenheit), highly toxic environment."
Some pretty stunning photos here!
would have assumed it was just silly photo editing if I hadn't read the explanation first, very interesting, thanks!
posted by skewed at 9:46 AM on April 16, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by skewed at 9:46 AM on April 16, 2021 [2 favorites]
Yeah I thought the same! Apparently I am just too cynical when it comes to blue lava!
posted by CarrotAdventure at 9:48 AM on April 16, 2021
posted by CarrotAdventure at 9:48 AM on April 16, 2021
Incredible place; more pics from the same photographer can be found here and here.
posted by TedW at 9:53 AM on April 16, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by TedW at 9:53 AM on April 16, 2021 [2 favorites]
FTA: You've heard of "red hot" and "white hot" to describe searing temperatures. But what about "blue hot"?
I mean ... that is the next step as you increase the temperature of a blackbody... (Noting that this effect is not that, mind you). Really cool photos, though!
posted by miguelcervantes at 9:54 AM on April 16, 2021 [2 favorites]
I mean ... that is the next step as you increase the temperature of a blackbody... (Noting that this effect is not that, mind you). Really cool photos, though!
posted by miguelcervantes at 9:54 AM on April 16, 2021 [2 favorites]
So are we just going to say wow cool and pass over the bit where people who aren't photographers are breathing toxic fumes to mine the sulfur the volcano throws out?
posted by emjaybee at 10:50 AM on April 16, 2021 [12 favorites]
posted by emjaybee at 10:50 AM on April 16, 2021 [12 favorites]
TedW, great pix, thank you! These also show more of the miners and their enviro - insane work (how is that even possible?)!
posted by esoteric things at 10:54 AM on April 16, 2021
posted by esoteric things at 10:54 AM on April 16, 2021
Kid's home chemistry sets probably don't currently recommend melting sulfur to see how it changes from a yellow liquid (normal cyclic octasulfur) to a thick goo (polysulfur) and then a deep red liquid (wat?), which you can pour into cold water to quench into amorphous sulfur that's weirdly rubbery.
They never did recommend, when the sulfur catches fire in that heating as it often does, instead of putting it out, pouring the blue-flaming liquid in long beautiful arcs. (Outside! At night.)
These photos are very large science.
posted by away for regrooving at 11:06 AM on April 16, 2021 [8 favorites]
They never did recommend, when the sulfur catches fire in that heating as it often does, instead of putting it out, pouring the blue-flaming liquid in long beautiful arcs. (Outside! At night.)
These photos are very large science.
posted by away for regrooving at 11:06 AM on April 16, 2021 [8 favorites]
I like this planet. Let's stay here.
posted by Halloween Jack at 11:48 AM on April 16, 2021
posted by Halloween Jack at 11:48 AM on April 16, 2021
I thought the new Nether was pretty, but this has it beat.
posted by zompist at 12:28 PM on April 16, 2021
posted by zompist at 12:28 PM on April 16, 2021
So are we just going to say wow cool and pass over the bit where people who aren't photographers are breathing toxic fumes to mine the sulfur the volcano throws out?
Yeah, loved how the article obscures the fact that these people make $5.50 for carrying out a 220 pound load of sulfur, never mind that it's extremely dangerous and the air is toxic. But hey, blue lava!
posted by oneirodynia at 12:43 PM on April 16, 2021 [4 favorites]
Yeah, loved how the article obscures the fact that these people make $5.50 for carrying out a 220 pound load of sulfur, never mind that it's extremely dangerous and the air is toxic. But hey, blue lava!
posted by oneirodynia at 12:43 PM on April 16, 2021 [4 favorites]
So what you're saying is Minecraft's blue hellfire is real, and that the ground on and around Kawah Ijen is pure soul sand? My son will love this interpretation. Chemistry is cool.
Growing up, Grandpa used to throw a short length of old copper pipe into the campfire to make the flames turn blue and green. We never cooked over that fire, obviously. But it was fun to look at.
posted by caution live frogs at 12:50 PM on April 16, 2021
Growing up, Grandpa used to throw a short length of old copper pipe into the campfire to make the flames turn blue and green. We never cooked over that fire, obviously. But it was fun to look at.
posted by caution live frogs at 12:50 PM on April 16, 2021
Well, this is interesting.
The Struggle and Strain of Mining “Devil’s Gold” (Coburn Dukehart, 2015, National Geographic):
The Struggle and Strain of Mining “Devil’s Gold” (Coburn Dukehart, 2015, National Geographic):
Mining companies have sped up this natural process by installing ceramic pipes on an active gas vent near the lake. The pipes route the gas down the mountain and condense it into liquid sulfur, which then drips and solidifies on hard sulfur mats. This solid sulfur is what the miners break up and pack out.posted by Not A Thing at 1:06 PM on April 16, 2021 [2 favorites]
WHOOOOOOOOOA
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 2:39 PM on April 16, 2021
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 2:39 PM on April 16, 2021
emjaybe and oneirodynia, thank you both for the grounding - I went straight for the photos, and missed this completely. I appreciate your attention.
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 2:42 PM on April 16, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 2:42 PM on April 16, 2021 [1 favorite]
It appears that the lava itself isn’t blue, but rather that it is enveloped in swirling blue flames. The images are stunning and surreal and otherworldly. I cannot imagine the smells.
posted by kinnakeet at 3:14 PM on April 16, 2021
posted by kinnakeet at 3:14 PM on April 16, 2021
So are we just going to say wow cool and pass over the bit where people who aren't photographers are breathing toxic fumes to mine the sulfur the volcano throws out?
Yeah, they shouldn't do that.
posted by 2N2222 at 3:16 PM on April 16, 2021
Yeah, they shouldn't do that.
posted by 2N2222 at 3:16 PM on April 16, 2021
Yeah, they shouldn't do that.
There are precious few other jobs in the area, and it is a living (though dangerous). The tourist trade offered a handy way to make extra cash; when I was hiking there a few years back, we were passed by a sulfur worker with a wheelbarrow, who was offering rides to the top for any hiker who was willing to spend $50 and their dignity to be carried to the peak.
Beyond just making pennies for mining sulfur from the crater, workers there are at risk of getting massacred by sudden increased volcanic activity, as happened as recently as 1989.
posted by micketymoc at 4:21 PM on April 16, 2021 [1 favorite]
There are precious few other jobs in the area, and it is a living (though dangerous). The tourist trade offered a handy way to make extra cash; when I was hiking there a few years back, we were passed by a sulfur worker with a wheelbarrow, who was offering rides to the top for any hiker who was willing to spend $50 and their dignity to be carried to the peak.
Beyond just making pennies for mining sulfur from the crater, workers there are at risk of getting massacred by sudden increased volcanic activity, as happened as recently as 1989.
posted by micketymoc at 4:21 PM on April 16, 2021 [1 favorite]
About 10 years ago some of the people who make a living mining the sulfur from this volcano allowed a friend of mine to shoot a documentary with them. I don't see it streaming anywhere, but it's called Where Heaven Meets Hell and you should try to find it.
posted by theory at 5:11 PM on April 16, 2021 [9 favorites]
posted by theory at 5:11 PM on April 16, 2021 [9 favorites]
Ijen is closed to expats during COVID or I would be there in a heartbeat. And yes, the plight of the miners is terrible. Indonesia is a poor country. International pressure on the mining companies to treat people decently is welcome.
posted by frumiousb at 4:54 PM on April 17, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by frumiousb at 4:54 PM on April 17, 2021 [2 favorites]
It appears that the lava itself isn’t blue, but rather that it is enveloped in swirling blue flames.
Ah -- then I'm guessing the lava isn't blue under all lighting conditions. Maybe wind blows these blue flames out.
posted by Rash at 6:26 PM on April 17, 2021
Ah -- then I'm guessing the lava isn't blue under all lighting conditions. Maybe wind blows these blue flames out.
posted by Rash at 6:26 PM on April 17, 2021
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posted by DTMFA at 9:36 AM on April 16, 2021 [4 favorites]