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Red Hot Steel Battles a Frozen Lake in a Video of Ice and Fire

by Michael Walsh
Jan 28 2017 • 12:00 AM

Some people see a frozen lake and they grab their ice skates and hockey stick, while others reach for their cutting tools and a fishing rod, but Finland’s Lauri Vuohensilta, the man behind the YouTube account the Hydraulic Press ChannelOpens in a new tab, is not like most people. Because when he sees a frozen lake, he sees an opportunity to perform a very unusual but totally awesome experiment, which is why we now have an answer to this burning question: what happens when 20 kilograms of red hotOpens in a new tab steel meets a foot of frozen ice?Yeah, that’s right, this is a video of ice and fire.

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This is actually from (the much younger than you might have guessed) Vuohensilta’s offshoot YouTube channel, aptly named Beyond the PressOpens in a new tab, which takes him from his factory and favorite crushing toy, but not away from his wonderful, understated insanity. In this video he and his wife placed 20 kilograms of super heated steelOpens in a new tab (roughly 45 pounds) on a wall of ice. His prediction that the ice would hold was essentially right, since to get the steel to completely break through he needed to shimmy it, but it only held on by the thinnest of margins.What was just as interesting (besides hearing his great laugh in super slow motion) was seeing how the water that came in contact with the steel was warmed up, almost to boiling according to them, while right below it remained completely freezing. It was like they made a mini hot spring encased entirely in ice.ice-steelFrom now on, this should obviously be known as a Jon Snow hot tub.What surprised you about this video? Did the ice hold better than you imagined it would? What do you think they could alter here to make the steel break through the ice on its own? Dive down into our comments section below to share your thoughts with us.

Images: Beyond the Press