Volcano question?????????

Question

if your body was melted by the lava would it smell?? and how many die from melting per year?

Answer 1

Your body would not melt.  It would dehydrate, then it would burn, if oxygen was available.  If oxygen was not available, if, for example, the lava covered the body, it would dehydrate then carbonize without burning.

It would smell like burning flesh--the same smell as grilling hamburgers in your back yard.

I don't know how many die from lava per year, but it is probably a very small number.  Lava is either so thick (think toothpaste) that it hardly moves, or it is liquid and flows in streams like water.  Either way, it is pretty easy to avoid.

The thing coming from a volcanic eruption that will really get you is a pyroclastic flow.

A pyroclastic flow (also known as a pyroclastic density current)[1] is a common and devastating result of some volcanic eruptions. The flows are fast-moving currents of hot gas and rock (collectively known as tephra), which travel away from the volcano at speeds generally greater than 80 km/h (50mph).[2] The gas can reach temperatures of about 1,000 degrees Celsius (1,800 F). The flows normally hug the ground and travel downhill, or spread laterally under gravity. Their speed depends upon the density of the current, the volcanic output rate, and the gradient of the slope.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyroclastic... (has a good picture, too)

Picture

http://pixdaus.com/pics/1219844147RZGIJi...