What is a volcano?

Have you ever wondered what is going on inside a giant, fire-burping mountain? Join Mira and Finn on an explosive adventure as we journey deep, deep underground to uncover the glowing, bubbling secrets of volcanoes! In this red-hot episode of Science is Not Boring, we discover how solid rock turns into thick, sludgy magma that can reach a whopping 1,200 degrees Celsius! What happens when all that hot rock and gas builds up too much pressure? Boom! You get a spectacular eruption and zooming rivers of lava! We will learn about incredibly brave scientists who wore shiny silver space suits just to study lava up close—even if it smelled exactly like thousands of rotten eggs! Plus, we'll travel all the way from the bottom of the Pacific Ocean to find the heaviest volcano on Earth, and then blast off into space to visit Olympus Mons on Mars, a volcano the size of the entire state of Arizona! Get ready to explore the Ring of Fire, squishy underwater pillow lava, and how these fiery mountains actually build brand-new land. Put on your heat-proof suits and let's dive into the fascinating world of volcanoes!

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:42

Welcome to Science Is Not Boring by Kidopoly.com. I'm Mira! And I'm Finn! Today's episode is extra special because we have a shout-out for Liam and Lucas in Singapore. A big hello to both of you.

SPEAKER_01 0:58

Hi Liam and Lucas. Singapore is such a cool place. You guys actually asked us how volcanoes come about, so this whole episode is dedicated to you.

SPEAKER_00 1:08

Exactly! It was a great pit, guys. Get ready, because today we are talking about giant mountains that literally burp out liquid fire. Wait, mountains that burp? Like, out loud? Sort of. Imagine solid rock getting so hot that it turns into a glowing, bubbling, sludgy soup that can reach over 1,200 degrees Celsius.

SPEAKER_01 1:37

Whoa, 1,200 degrees Celsius? That is more than 10 times hotter than boiling water. It would melt almost anything you threw in it.

SPEAKER_00 1:47

It absolutely would. And when that bubbling rock bursts out of the top of a mountain, it puts on one of the most explosive shows on planet Earth.

SPEAKER_01 1:56

But how does the fire get inside the mountain in the first place? Did someone leave an oven on down there?

SPEAKER_00 2:03

Not exactly an oven. To understand how volcanoes work, we have to journey deep, deep under our feet. Let's picture the Earth like a giant hard-boiled egg. The outside layer, where we live, is called the crust, and it's actually cracked into puzzle pieces.

SPEAKER_01 2:22

Wait, we're standing on a cracked eggshell. Are the pieces moving?

SPEAKER_00 2:26

They are! Those giant pieces are called tectonic plates. Underneath them is a massive layer called the mantle, which goes down nearly 2,900 kilometres.

SPEAKER_01 2:38

2,900 kilometres? That's like driving across a whole country just straight down into the dirt.

SPEAKER_00 2:46

Exactly! The deep mantle gets much hotter, but closer to the top, rock gets roasted between 700 and 1,300 degrees Celsius. It gets so insanely hot that the solid rock melts into a thick liquid called magma.

SPEAKER_01 3:03

Ew, it turns into a hot rock sludge. But if it's trapped underground, how does it become a volcano?

SPEAKER_00 3:11

It's all about pressure, Finn. Magma is actually lighter than the solid rock around it, so it tries to float upward. And just like a bottle of soda, it's packed full of trapped gas.

SPEAKER_01 3:23

Oh no, I know what happens when you shake up a soda bottle. The gas wants out.

SPEAKER_00 3:29

Bingo! When the pressure builds up and the magma finds a weak crack between those tectonic plates, it forces its way to the surface. The gas bubbles expand and boom!

SPEAKER_01 3:41

The mountain burps or explodes. But wait, is it still called magma when it comes out?

SPEAKER_00 3:48

Nope. Once that glowing red liquid hits the fresh air on the surface, scientists change its name. It is officially called lava. So magma is underground, and lava is above ground. And believe it or not, there are scientists whose whole job is to study this lava up close.

SPEAKER_01 4:08

Up close?

SPEAKER_00 4:09

Like, how close? Isn't it a thousand degrees? It is! These scientists are called volcanologists. One of the most famous teams ever was a French husband and wife named Katia and Maurice Kraft. What did Katia and Maurice do? In the 1970s and 80s, they dedicated their lives to getting as close to erupting volcanoes as humanly possible, just so they could film the lava.

SPEAKER_01 4:36

Were they crazy? Lava can flow up to 30 kilometres an hour. You can't just stand next to it.

SPEAKER_00 4:42

They were just incredibly brave and curious. To get just a few feet away, they had to wear special silver suits that looked like shiny astronaut gear.

unknown 4:53

Haha.

SPEAKER_01 4:54

Shiny spacesuits on a volcano. That actually sounds kind of cool.

SPEAKER_00 4:58

The silver suits reflected the intense heat, letting them stand right on the edge of boiling lava lakes. But there was one thing the suits couldn't protect against.

SPEAKER_01 5:09

Was it explosions?

SPEAKER_00 5:11

Flying rocks? Well, yes, but I meant the smell. Volcanoes release massive clouds of a gas called hydrogen sulfide, and it smells exactly like thousands of rotting eggs.

SPEAKER_01 5:24

Ew! Oh my gosh, gross! So they were standing in heavy silver spacesuits, sweating in thousand-degree heat, while smelling giant rotten eggs.

SPEAKER_00 5:35

Exactly! But because of their wild adventures, they captured some of the most detailed measurements of volcanoes in human history. Now, Liam and Lucas wanted to know where the biggest volcanoes are. Have any guesses, Finn?

SPEAKER_01 5:49

Hmm. Mount Everest is the tallest mountain on Earth. Is that a sleeping volcano?

SPEAKER_00 5:55

Great guess, but nope. Mount Everest is just plain old rock pushed up by tectonic plates. The biggest active volcano on Earth is actually Mauna in Hawaii. Oh, I know Hawaii has lots of volcanoes. Just how big is Mauna Loa? If you measure it from its real base, at the very bottom of the Pacific Ocean, up to its peak, it is over 9,100 metres tall. That makes it taller than Mount Everest.

SPEAKER_01 6:24

Wait, it starts underwater? That's cheating. But still, that is massive.

SPEAKER_00 6:29

It gets crazier. Mauna Loa is so huge and unbelievably heavy that it actually bends the solid rock of the ocean floor downward by about eight kilometres. It squishes the Earth's crust.

SPEAKER_01 6:43

That is so heavy. Is it the biggest volcano everywhere?

SPEAKER_00 6:47

On Earth, yes. But the true king of all volcanoes is in space. It's on the planet Mars, and it's called Olympus Mons. There are volcanoes in space. How big is the king of Mars? Olympus Mons is almost 22 kilometers high. That is two and a half times taller than Mount Everest. And its base is roughly the size of the entire state of Arizona.

SPEAKER_01 7:13

A single volcano the size of a whole state? If that erupted, the lava would be everywhere.

SPEAKER_00 7:18

Luckily, Olympus Mons hasn't erupted for a very long time. But back here on Earth, volcanoes aren't just destructive, they are actually planet builders. Planet builders? What do you mean? Don't they just melt stuff? They melt rock, sure. But when that lava cools, it turns back into solid stone. Over millions of years, volcanoes have actually created entirely new land. Wait, is that how islands are made? Exactly! The entire state of Hawaii was built by volcanoes, pushing lava up from the ocean floor. Without volcanoes, we wouldn't have some of the most beautiful beaches in the world.

SPEAKER_01 7:59

Okay, that is pretty cool. But how many of these fire-burping mountains are on Earth right now?

SPEAKER_00 8:06

Right now, there are about 1,500 active volcanoes on land. Most of them are in a giant circle around the Pacific Ocean called the Ring of Fire.

SPEAKER_01 8:16

The Ring of Fire? That sounds like a place I do not want to go on vacation.

SPEAKER_00 8:22

You might already be near it. But here's a crazy fact. Scientists believe there could be more than a million hidden volcanoes down on the ocean floor. A million underwater volcanoes? Do they boil the fish? When they erupt deep underwater, the freezing ocean instantly cools the lava into funny round lumps. Scientists call it pillow lava because it looks like big, squishy rock pillows. Alright Finn, it's time for the quiz! Are you ready to test your brain?

SPEAKER_01 8:54

Okay, my brain is ready. Let's do this. First question.

SPEAKER_00 8:58

What do we call rock when it's melted underground before it erupts? Next one. What gas do volcanoes burp out that smells like rotten eggs? Question three. What were the names of the French husband and wife team who studied volcanoes in silver suits? Here's number four. What is the name of the biggest active volcano on Earth located in Hawaii? Last question. What planet is home to Olympus Mons, the biggest volcano in the solar system? Great job! Let's see how you did. The first answer is magma. For question two, it's hydrogen sulfide. The answer to question three is Katia and Maurice Kraft. For number four, the biggest on Earth is Mauna Loa. And the final answer is Olympus Mons is on Mars.

SPEAKER_01 10:10

Wow, I am never going to look at a mountain the same way again. Any of them could be a sleeping fireburper.

SPEAKER_00 10:18

Well, most of them are just regular mountains, Finn. But it really is amazing how our planet is constantly shifting, moving, and building new land from the inside out.

SPEAKER_01 10:29

It really is. Hey, if you thought these glowing lava facts were cool, please leave us a five-star review.

SPEAKER_00 10:37

Yes! Just scroll down on whatever app you're using right now and tap those five stars. You can even tell us in your review which volcano fact blew your mind the most.

SPEAKER_01 10:48

Oh, and don't forget to head over to our site, kidopoly.com. We've got tons of fun learning games and awesome activities for you to explore.

SPEAKER_00 10:58

And if you want a shout out on the show, just like Liam and Lucas got today, or if you just want to say hi, send us an email at hello at kidopoly.com. Thanks for exploring the glowing hot centre of the earth with us. See you next time on Science Is Not Boring. Bye, everyone.