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I recently watched the last lord of the rings film and me and my mum got into a bit of an argument about one of the last scenes, when the ring has just been destroyed. The volcano erupts and Sam and Frodo are able to outrun the lava, and then sit in fairly close contact without touching it for a long period of time - unharmed.

Would this be true to life - I hear that some pyroclastic flows reach speeds of almost 1000 km/h (600 mph) and would kill you because of the gasses. However other people have said that it is possible to stand next to lava and be safe.

In conclusion is the final scene realistic in this area ignoring other unrealistic aspects of the film.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vry0ijbJVE the end of this clip show a bit of what im talking about 1:58

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Welcome to Skeptics! According to the FAQ, Skeptics.SE is for researching the evidence behind the claims you hear or read. This question doesn't appear to have any doubtful claims to investigate. Please edit it to reference a notable claim and flag for moderator attention to re-open (or get 5 re-open votes). – Sklivvz♦ Jun 6 '12 at 9:18
Volcano Geotourism – Oliver_C Jun 6 '12 at 14:23
@Sklivvz - This Meta discussion indicated that these types of questions were ok. Has this changed? – Chad Jun 6 '12 at 14:38
@Chad the Lord of the Rings does not claim to represent our physical world, so there is no claim. Cf. "I just saw Superman, can aliens from Krypton fly?" – Sklivvz♦ Jun 6 '12 at 17:38
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@Chad Nobody is claiming that it is a realistic scene, so there is no claim! :-) There is no "Peter Jackson said this scene is completely realistic, even though the rest of the movie is made up"... it's a question that would fit on Science Fiction & Fantasy or Physics etc, but here? – Sklivvz♦ Jun 6 '12 at 20:47
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closed as off topic by Sklivvz♦ Jun 6 '12 at 9:18

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1 Answer

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There are actually multiple things wrong with Gollum's death at the end of LotR.

You are correct in presuming that being so near a very large pool of magma/lava would probably be fatal, if not from the extreme temperatures then likely from the toxic fumes. Of course there's a huge amount of variance in the makeup and relative temperatures of lava in different volcanoes, pre and post eruption, etc. There are truly a lot of factors that determine whether you would/could die from simply being near the lava and how long you'd have to be at what distance to feel ill effects, etc. Of course we're talking about Mount Doom which is purportedly filled with magic lava - other than that we know none of the necessary variables to say whether Gollum should have lived long enough to jump.

What we can say with absolute certainty is that the death scene itself was all wrong because Gollum wouldn't sink in lava since it's about 3 times denser than a human (or whatever Gollum was) body and between 100,000 and 1,100,000 times as viscous as water. If you fall into lava you will float, not sink - at average surface temperatures of 1,100 to 1,200C (~2,012 to 2,192F), sink or float won't matter much to your survival chances, though.

Perhaps it's less cinematic if the victim slams into the surface and doesn't sink? Or perhaps the rating system demands you not show a human body char-broiling... In either case, the average portrayal is definitely inaccurate.

References:

http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2000/fs152-00/

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/12/the-right-and-wrong-way-to-die-when-you-fall-into-lava/

http://www.earthmagazine.org/article/danger-paradise-hidden-hazards-volcano-geotourism

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Please provide some references to support your claims. – Sklivvz♦ Jun 6 '12 at 9:18
Gollum would still displace ~30kg(guessing) of lava. So while he may not sing to the bottom he may displace enough to be at least partially covered. And when jumping in he could actually have displaced more than that since there would be the downward force from fall from the apex of the jump. In addition the lava is moving faster at the bottom than the top (because the top is cooler so less fluid) so there would be an undertow to pull him down. – Chad Jun 6 '12 at 14:30
@Chad - while there are certainly currents, the viscosity of lava/magma is adequately high that they aren't typically fast enough to make them a major player in the ~5 seconds it took for Gollum to sink in the film. Partial coverage is definitely possible, especially with the force of a jump behind him, but it is highly unlikely that he would actually sink the way Hollywood always portrays it. Especially at the surface where, as you mentioned, temperatures are much cooler and the lava is therefore more solid, lava is just too thick for a human body to sink in. – David Perry Jun 6 '12 at 16:04
@DavidPerry - That may be but you have not shown evidence of this. While it is much cooler at the surface it can still be 1000K or more. Which would make it pretty fluid. While you may not "sink" in lava it is possible/likely to be covered quickly in a fast moving flow. If you have evidence to the contrary. The wired article is basically a blog and contains no science. Please quote the important parts of your links you are using to back up your claims to prevent link rot. – Chad Jun 6 '12 at 17:31
@Chad the wired article was written by Erik Klemetti, an assistant professor of Geosciences at Denison University. I recognize that wired may not be that trusted of a source, but collegiate-level science professors are usually trustworthy sources in their field of study. – David Perry Jun 6 '12 at 17:58
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