Find Out What Happens When You Breathe in Volcanic Ash
May 21st, 2017: Volcanoes are very fascinating. With their huge explosions and mesmerizing lava, they astound almost every person on the planet. Yet they are highly dangerous, the science behind fatalities induced by volcanoes is grimly fascinating.
For example, if you fall into flowing hot lava: you won't just sink in, you will slowly turn into an exploding piece of leather. Also, Pyroclastic flows will cause your internal organs to explode.
If you fall into a hot enough geothermal hot spring: you will dissolve in the water just like sugar dissolves in hot coffee. So, what becomes of the volcanic ash? What will Volcanic ash do to you...
Volcanic ash is mostly made up of silica compounds. Much like sand, volcanic ash cools down from its molten state at a very rapid rate. This rapid cooling causes it to turn into little fragments of glass that are much finer than 2mm.
Although during an explosion, the volcanic ash might seem light as it is buoyant, it is up to 6 times denser than rain water. Inhaling this volcanic ash will likely cause you to die as it is mostly made up of glass fragments. The ash would cut and lacerate the insides of your lungs and cause severe pain.
The same ash can get mixed into water supplies around the world and cause the same amount of harm as most people would end up drinking it without any second thoughts.
Although it might seem dangerous, unless you have a preexisting condition like asthma, it is very hard for volcanic ash alone to kill you. It will cause permanent damage to your lungs, but unless you are buried under volcanic ash, it is very unlikely that volcanic ash will kill you.
A simple air filtration mask will help you prevent permanent damage to your lungs that could possibly be caused by volcanic ash.
