Dip your hand in molten lead without being burned!
Why Worldbuilding Stack Exchange recommends it
Worldbuilding Stack Exchange users link it as a quick, concrete demonstration of the Leidenfrost effect when discussing very hot or very cold things touching water or skin.
Recommended by 0 people across 0 different months, 2016 to 2019.
What it is
A clip from the MythBusters episode "Mini Myth Mayhem" showing the team testing whether a wet hand can be dipped into molten lead without injury. The idea rests on the Leidenfrost effect, where a layer of steam insulates the skin. It was uploaded by a viewer, not the show's producers.
What people said
Cites Ivan · 2016-01 · Worldbuilding Stack Exchange · on “Dropping lightsaber into lake?”
We all know that lightsabers are used for cutting/ melting [LINK] through lots of types of materials [LINK] (with few exceptions [LINK] ). Now what will happen if lightsaber is dropped into a lake [LINK] and stays on [LINK] ? What are long term implications on environment [LINK] ? [LINK] Edit: lightsaber power source and output [LINK] Edit 2: Leidenfrost effect [LINK] (mentioned in comments) and mythbusters demonstration video [this video]
Cites Cort Ammon · 2017-03 · Worldbuilding Stack Exchange · on “Application of a spider poison to skin”
So for some reason, not too many studies have been done on bathing the body in poisons. I think the real issue is that its just too hard to get undergraduates to agree to play test subject! In general, I'd say you're in a bad place if the spider venom touches mucous membranes. The skin is an amazing rejecter of large organic molecules, mostly thanks to its outer layer, the stratum corneum. This layer is weaker in those membranes and the potential for diffusion into the rest of the body is higher. Accordingly, I would say you should avoid pouring over the face or taking a bath. Besides it being outrageously expensive to get that much venom in the first place, it is likely to expose the sensit
Cites user5713492 · 2019-03 · Worldbuilding Stack Exchange · on “Use Mercury as quenching liquid for swords?”
A couple of notes: mercury generally doesn't form amalgams with iron, see for example [LINK] where a reference is given for low-temperature amalgams. My recollection is that it was sold in units of steel 76-lb flasks [LINK] so one might think that the mercury isn't going to mess up the steel very much. Now if meteoroic iron [LINK] were used with its relatively high nickel content the situation might be different; I don't know. Water might not be as effective a coolant as one might think due to the Leidenfrost effect [this video] . I know that I have stuck my fingers into liquid nitrogen for a couple of seconds without harmful effects, but doing the same with liquid propane [LINK] may be more risk