How to Build a Lava Moat (with xkcd)

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  • Опубликовано: 29 авг 2019
  • Where to Buy "How To" by Randall Munroe:
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    The world's most entertaining and useless self-help guide, from the brilliant mind behind the wildly popular webcomic xkcd and the #1 New York Times bestsellers What If? and Thing Explainer
    For any task you might want to do, there's a right way, a wrong way, and a way so monumentally complex, excessive, and inadvisable that no one would ever try it. How To is a guide to the third kind of approach. It's full of highly impractical advice for everything from landing a plane to digging a hole.
    Bestselling author and cartoonist Randall Munroe explains how to predict the weather by analyzing the pixels of your Facebook photos. He teaches you how to tell if you're a baby boomer or a 90's kid by measuring the radioactivity of your teeth. He offers tips for taking a selfie with a telescope, crossing a river by boiling it, and powering your house by destroying the fabric of space-time. And if you want to get rid of the book once you're done with it, he walks you through your options for proper disposal, including dissolving it in the ocean, converting it to a vapor, using tectonic plates to subduct it into the Earth's mantle, or launching it into the Sun.
    By exploring the most complicated ways to do simple tasks, Munroe doesn't just make things difficult for himself and his readers. As he did so brilliantly in What If?, Munroe invites us to explore the most absurd reaches of the possible. Full of clever infographics and amusing illustrations, How To is a delightfully mind-bending way to better understand the science and technology underlying the things we do every day.
    REFERENCES
    How To (Randall Munroe) - see above for links!
    Rock melting points
    hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/...
    Syracuse University Researchers Make Lava Using Keweenawan Basalt
    lavaproject.syr.edu/making-lav...
    BEDROCK GEOLOGY OF WISCONSIN MAP: UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-EXTENSION Geological and Natural History Survey
    Electric Furnace
    www.amazon.com/Automatic-Elec...
    Large Geothermal Power Plants
    www.worldatlas.com/articles/l...
    www.calpine.com/operations/po...
    Coal Power Plant Capacity
    www.talenenergy.com/plant/col...
    The size of an A19 or A21 Lightbulb
    blog.1000bulbs.com/home/a21-v...
    Low melting point Vanadate glass
    iopscience.iop.org/article/10...
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    Minute Physics provides an energetic and entertaining view of old and new problems in physics -- all in a minute!
    Created by Henry Reich
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Комментарии • 2,3 тыс.

  • @Awgolas
    @Awgolas 4 года назад +3781

    Using a nuclear reactor to generate heat to generate electricity to generate heat seems very inefficent. Using a coolant loop from the reactor into the lava would definitely increase the efficiency significantly, and if you only use 1 loop, now you've got radioactive lava. Absolute win.

    • @lizardi1037
      @lizardi1037 Год назад +677

      Ferb I know what we’re gonna do today

    • @shk439
      @shk439 Год назад +314

      To be even more efficient, you can try using lava as a coolant

    • @shk439
      @shk439 Год назад +211

      Well actually nuclear reactors operate at slightly lower temperatures than needed for a glowing lava pool

    • @sirocbit8041
      @sirocbit8041 Год назад +11

      The reactor probably would explode

    • @johnnysun6495
      @johnnysun6495 Год назад +23

      Or just use the rocks in the reactor and make RADIOACTIVE LAVA

  • @IamClipsus
    @IamClipsus 4 года назад +1824

    2:20 "Which is clearly absurd."
    Yeah, that is the absurd part, of course.

    • @NJ-wb1cz
      @NJ-wb1cz 4 года назад +135

      The absurd part is that he didn't advise on the type of crocodile to inhabit your moat.

    • @EmeralBookwise
      @EmeralBookwise 4 года назад +165

      @@NJ-wb1cz: Crocodiles, in a lava moat? Now that good fellow is absurd. A proper lava moat requires only the highest quality cybernetic laser sharks!

    • @monad_tcp
      @monad_tcp 4 года назад +30

      solar power is always absurd, except for a Dyson sphere, that's not

    • @NJ-wb1cz
      @NJ-wb1cz 4 года назад +29

      ​@@EmeralBookwise good show old boy!
      However, lava is an example of a so called black body and is sadly virtually impenetrable for photons making lasers just glorified heaters for lava, providing no extra layer of protection. Which is the only fatal flaw in your otherwise top notch plan!

    • @gayatrimandhane3087
      @gayatrimandhane3087 4 года назад +1

      🤣🤣🤣

  • @reubenfromow4854
    @reubenfromow4854 4 года назад +4480

    My wife: “why do you never help out with home planning?”
    Me:

    • @shadowwriter329
      @shadowwriter329 4 года назад +62

      Reuben Fromow I offered to dig a lava moat but you didn’t like that idea. You said it makes your hair fizzy. So I am stopping while I am ahead.

    • @ajaybyadgi2672
      @ajaybyadgi2672 3 года назад +1

      because that shit bor ing

    • @solisruben296
      @solisruben296 3 года назад +8

      An easy way to get the lava is to go to the nether and bring buckets of the stuff back, then use a shovel to dig a 5 block wide 3 block deep pit around your house, then fill it with lava. Just make sure you're not fully reliant on it since someone could just build over it.

    • @TinyDeskEngineer
      @TinyDeskEngineer Год назад +2

      "Are you sure you _want_ me to help me with home planning?"

    • @onrch
      @onrch 5 месяцев назад

      ​@@solisruben296You can also use trapdoors to fool the human AI.

  • @mamuburaa
    @mamuburaa 3 года назад +700

    The answer is obviously to build your base inside a volcano like any self-respecting super villain would.
    That way you get lava and a power source.

    • @justagamer878
      @justagamer878 3 месяца назад +3

      What if the volcano shuts down and hibernates?

    • @CarFreeSegnitz
      @CarFreeSegnitz 3 месяца назад +12

      ⁠@@justagamer878 Super villains should chose Stromboli, a volcanic island just north of Sicily. It’s been erupting continuously for over 2000 years.
      For a bit more control I’d locate in Iceland and tap magma chambers there. Or some place warmer like Hawaii, Mount Kilauea. But then wherever you manage a lava moat will be uncomfortably warm (hot).

    • @Statsy10
      @Statsy10 2 месяца назад +7

      And constantly having to fend off intrepid volcanologists? No thank you!

  • @grfrjiglstan
    @grfrjiglstan 4 года назад +5313

    Minute physics and xkcd - a match made in heaven.

    • @AcornFox
      @AcornFox 4 года назад +76

      MattheJ1 A math made in heaven.

    • @woodfur00
      @woodfur00 4 года назад +18

      Stick figures

    • @andrewxia4532
      @andrewxia4532 4 года назад +4

      this is what i have been waiting for

    • @grekiki
      @grekiki 4 года назад +8

      There is another video with the same team. About rockets!

    • @andrewxia4532
      @andrewxia4532 4 года назад +6

      @@grekiki WHERE!?!?!

  • @kingbranden1369
    @kingbranden1369 4 года назад +4773

    Right, of course. I knew I was doing something wrong. Thank you so much for this tutorial it has been extremely helpful.

    • @Apersonl0l
      @Apersonl0l 4 года назад +102

      KingBranden
      You’re having difficulties too?

    • @chervilious
      @chervilious 4 года назад +92

      @@Apersonl0l same I use mixture of rocks that's why it didn't glow as much

    • @boxfox4879
      @boxfox4879 4 года назад +62

      Ugh yea. Last time the bridge burned for mine. I’m still trying to explain to the government why I need a whole moat

    • @valyrianeagle7001
      @valyrianeagle7001 4 года назад +39

      ikr, i accidentally added uranium into the rock mixture, and iradiated my neighborhood

    • @proxy90909
      @proxy90909 4 года назад +39

      @@valyrianeagle7001 Know that feel man my uranium ressuply fell into the mote and its now a radiated mess

  • @deanastasya
    @deanastasya 4 года назад +2844

    UGH I WISH I SAW THIS BEFORE MAKING MY EVIL LAIR! had to settle for a circle of shark infested waters instead
    EDIT- I have made this comment 10 months ago and am still getting replies so I will update you. The sharks are a difficult balance between feeding them too much and starving them, I would be careful managing their bloodthirst without risking their health. As a downside of my inexperience I have been overfeeding them at first and my heroic nemesis made her way into my lair, there was a lot of fighting and monologuing. As an upside we are married now, both evil, and both have learned from the past security issue. With 2 villains in a lair the amount of heroes doubled, so now I don't have to feed the sharks myself much at all

    • @TrippleDogDare
      @TrippleDogDare 4 года назад +139

      You didn’t even add LAZERS?! smh

    • @timthetincan6782
      @timthetincan6782 4 года назад +11

      @JUSTIN SMITH sharks don’t sleep

    • @kennko3
      @kennko3 4 года назад +1

      -_-

    • @insertnamehere8099
      @insertnamehere8099 4 года назад +96

      From personal experience, I would recommend piranhas. They require less work and are cheaper. Plus, sometimes sharks leave your enemies alone end they can swim to safety. No such issue with piranhas!
      Then again, you could, of course, splice the genes of the sharks and the piranhas to make a new creature but that’s just too expensive and time consuming (rather than visitor consuming)

    • @insane_troll
      @insane_troll 4 года назад +17

      Is your evil lair called Australia?

  • @keyboardmannow
    @keyboardmannow 4 года назад +993

    *forgets to add the bridge*
    “Hey boss uhm I cant come to work today”

    • @thanh6523
      @thanh6523 4 года назад +55

      keyboardmannow If you were to have a fucking lava moat you might as well have a private jet

    • @Alucard-gt1zf
      @Alucard-gt1zf 4 года назад +19

      @Brian Nguyen hes talking about the fact a bridge would defeat the purpose of a moat....

    • @sirgarde9256
      @sirgarde9256 4 года назад +25

      A drawbridge?

    • @samuelthecamel
      @samuelthecamel 4 года назад +20

      @@thanh6523 A jet is okay until it malfunctions and you're stuck within the moat. Or until someone else lands in your airstrip.

    • @minoxiothethird
      @minoxiothethird 3 года назад +33

      @@samuelthecamel And obviously we wouldn't want invaders landing in our airstrip, so we're going to need a fully functioning AA gun in case aerial intruders attack our home inside of our lava moat.

  • @The_Jzoli
    @The_Jzoli 4 года назад +4662

    Just get some lava with a bucket and pour it in the moat.

    • @blonze_brick6675
      @blonze_brick6675 4 года назад +272

      Big brain

    • @dustytheloneranger
      @dustytheloneranger 4 года назад +88

      Make sure your bucket is plastic number seven

    • @robinsparrow1618
      @robinsparrow1618 4 года назад +475

      @@dustytheloneranger you can make an iron bucket that can do the job with just 3 iron ingot actually

    • @lupinedreamexpress
      @lupinedreamexpress 4 года назад +125

      Should I enable creative mode first or what

    • @oddpotato4038
      @oddpotato4038 4 года назад +30

      @@lupinedreamexpress yup you should 😂

  • @Aeihd
    @Aeihd 4 года назад +1225

    "Which is clearly absurd"
    Yea, that's the absurd part.

    • @galacticbob1
      @galacticbob1 3 года назад +40

      Much better to just build your own commercial scale nuclear fission plant, IMHO.

    • @lavaknight3682
      @lavaknight3682 3 года назад +10

      @@galacticbob1 but is it “In my humble opinion” or “In my honest opinion”?

    • @galacticbob1
      @galacticbob1 3 года назад +22

      @@lavaknight3682 In My Hadronic Opinion, in this case. Nuclear physics, and all that. 😂

  • @TheCooldudeG
    @TheCooldudeG 4 года назад +635

    ☆☆☆☆ I give this Four stars! This guide has helped me solve almost all of my trespasser issues and given the outer walls of my personal fortress a wonderful glow. Keeps out burglars and in-laws! Would have given it 5 stars but the heat from the lava moat boiled away the water for the moat holding the Laser Sharks.

    • @joshyoung1440
      @joshyoung1440 Год назад +111

      So you gave it 4 stars for your poor planning, and because it did exactly what you wanted it to, which is get hot? Ugh, you are just one of _those_ reviewers.

    • @Marscandy1
      @Marscandy1 Год назад +42

      My laser shark moat is doing just fine, maybe yours has a design flaw?

    • @proisapro654
      @proisapro654 Год назад +4

      i rate it 6.9 stars

    • @thepizzaman6310
      @thepizzaman6310 Год назад +28

      I'm fine, because my newest generation of laser shark is completely fireproof, allowing me to replace the water with lava safely

    • @An_Iron_God69420
      @An_Iron_God69420 Год назад +6

      awww the frickin laser sharks

  • @sprazz8668
    @sprazz8668 3 года назад +661

    "It's tempting to choose a kind of rock that melts at a lower temperature." Well duh, it's not like we're going to choose a high melting point rock for literally no reason other than to flex our economic superiority over our enemies........................................ *OK NEVERMIND I GUESS WE'RE GOING THERE*

    • @mechasheep4861
      @mechasheep4861 3 года назад +65

      Yeah Molten Tungsten moat time.

    • @mojn4249
      @mojn4249 3 года назад +2

      @@mechasheep4861 XD

    • @TantalumPolytope
      @TantalumPolytope Год назад +6

      @@mechasheep4861 ya gunna need a tantalum carbide crucible for that

    • @Smitology
      @Smitology 3 месяца назад +9

      No point in a lava moat if it just looks like a grey sludge around your house, not the bright orange liquid everyone sees and thinks "that's a lava moat"

    • @Ace-nq4cp
      @Ace-nq4cp 2 месяца назад +10

      "Sir, yes technically the mercury river IS liquid rock, and IS deadly, but I think we should stop ordering our Evil Lair stuff on Ali express.."

  • @thomasr.jackson2940
    @thomasr.jackson2940 4 года назад +1056

    I wish someone had made this video when I made my lava moat. It would have been a big help

    • @NJ-wb1cz
      @NJ-wb1cz 4 года назад +30

      I accidentally made my lava moan instead of moat.

    • @vitulus_
      @vitulus_ 4 года назад +4

      now you have a moat of stone

    • @malikfaisal416
      @malikfaisal416 4 года назад +8

      Doing this atm, wish me luck guys

    • @loganricherson3749
      @loganricherson3749 4 года назад +5

      @@NJ-wb1cz instructions unclear

    • @NJ-wb1cz
      @NJ-wb1cz 4 года назад +9

      @@loganricherson3749 i know right. its now super annoying and super sexy and its all around my house

  • @rc5989
    @rc5989 4 года назад +2212

    I’m going to go the 4km solar panel array route. We need to be green with our lava moats.

    • @bdf2718
      @bdf2718 4 года назад +214

      Terrible efficiency losses at each stage. Go for Fresnel lenses focusing the sun's rays onto the ground.
      It will work. Nobody likes invading houses in the rain.

    • @Zakara675
      @Zakara675 4 года назад +151

      Geothermal and nuclear are both clean energy sources

    • @Vasharan
      @Vasharan 4 года назад +87

      @@bdf2718 What about a geostationary solar collector that focuses the sun's light onto a circular area around your house. The beam would be 1m wide and precess so that it makes a circuit fast enough to keep the lava from solidifying.
      As a bonus, it can be manually overriden to get rid of pesky solicitors, girl scouts and door to door salesmen.

    • @Colopty
      @Colopty 4 года назад +40

      If you're going that route you might wish to go for an extra kilometer or two just so you can build up a power reserve for the days without a lot of sun.

    • @mandernachluca3774
      @mandernachluca3774 4 года назад +17

      @@Vasharan
      Problem with these things is that you, again, are dependend on outside systems. I mean, it is possible to shoot sattelites with jet fighter air to space missiles down ;D.

  • @fendoroid3788
    @fendoroid3788 4 года назад +621

    And then comes the guy with a bucket of water.

    • @danielsmerdel8214
      @danielsmerdel8214 4 года назад +47

      By the time anyone got close with water, both the bucket will have melted and the water will have boiled into steam

    • @TheBalefire
      @TheBalefire 4 года назад +63

      @@danielsmerdel8214 Woosh

    • @danielsmerdel8214
      @danielsmerdel8214 4 года назад +74

      @@TheBalefire that's great but don't come crying to me when your skin melted off because you forgot lava radiates a heck ton of heat

    • @KingCreeper-1026
      @KingCreeper-1026 4 года назад +43

      Daniel Smerdel Minecraft joke

    • @wolfkey980
      @wolfkey980 4 года назад +21

      @@danielsmerdel8214 you did not get the joke

  • @SaHaRaSquad
    @SaHaRaSquad 4 года назад +391

    Book's subtitle: 'advice for *common* real-world problems'
    Also book: how to build a lava moat.
    Okay then.

    • @TheHutchy01
      @TheHutchy01 4 года назад +53

      You mean you don't keep trying to build lava moats?

    • @android19willpwn
      @android19willpwn 4 года назад +25

      I don't get it, what's your point?

    • @tacocatt6808
      @tacocatt6808 4 года назад +29

      Android 19 right? I found this video really helpful, my lava moats kept failing and I kept having to melt more rocks, >:(
      Now, however, I’m a lot more informed! :)

    • @a.person1805
      @a.person1805 4 года назад +3

      Well, i build them all the time!
      -In real life!- *In minecraft.*

    • @jaqihegland6232
      @jaqihegland6232 4 года назад +7

      It's advice, it's just not particularly useful advice.

  • @chingamfong
    @chingamfong 4 года назад +434

    Me: I have a homework due tonight and I barely started on it.
    RUclips: *Do you want to know how to build a lava moat?*
    Also me: Good question

  • @definesigint2823
    @definesigint2823 4 года назад +520

    Sigh. I kept wanting to mouse over for the alt text.

    • @tayasergeeva4955
      @tayasergeeva4955 4 года назад +23

      When I was reading the book I had the same problem.

  • @GameCyborgCh
    @GameCyborgCh 4 года назад +316

    0:53 minecraft players: "years of academic training wasted"

  • @solarsatan9000
    @solarsatan9000 4 года назад +151

    Oh I need higher quality rock that's where I've been going wrong

    • @copterinx0468
      @copterinx0468 3 года назад +5

      Nah just add LEDs. In fact, forget a lava moat; just rig some smoke machines and holoprojectors in a trench along with heat vents a distance away. Same effect, way cheaper and easier.

    • @Hiltok
      @Hiltok 3 года назад +8

      @@copterinx0468 That's OK as a deterrent but it's not going to do the job of actually melting a horde of invasive zombies, or religious/political door-knockers.

  • @hugoiwata
    @hugoiwata 4 года назад +226

    1:42 I like how you used the word "football" in a manner that no one gets bothered.

    • @Lemilie
      @Lemilie 4 года назад +12

      I wonder how that sport would function

    • @Jake28
      @Jake28 4 года назад +11

      @@Lemilie You clearly THROW an oval shaped ball!

    • @348joey
      @348joey 3 года назад +2

      @@Jake28 ? That'd still be American football. You mean "THROW a round ball" or "KICK an oval ball"?

    • @lcmiracle
      @lcmiracle 3 года назад

      @@Jake28 You need to specify it more with "by hand".

    • @Crispman_777
      @Crispman_777 3 года назад +2

      @@Jake28 But that's just Rugby...

  • @itsadisood
    @itsadisood 4 года назад +843

    Instructions unclear. My lava is emitting 3.6 Roentgen. Not good, not bad.

    • @EDEDED_
      @EDEDED_ 4 года назад +135

      Instructions *nuclear.

    • @BlackCrafte
      @BlackCrafte 4 года назад +59

      3.6 roentgen from lava moat ? This man is delusionnal, take hime to the infirmary !

    • @Carmenifold
      @Carmenifold 4 года назад +43

      you didn't see graphite in the moat.
      you *DIDN'T!!!*

    • @CarbonDoggie
      @CarbonDoggie 4 года назад +25

      It's all fun and games until
      ionizing gamma radiation

    • @nathanaelvetters2684
      @nathanaelvetters2684 4 года назад +26

      In order to produce ionizing radiation just from blackbody radiation, your lava will have to be at least ~300,000 Kelvin. It's emitting at least 460 terawatts of power per square meter.
      Color me impressed.

  • @lizlee8715
    @lizlee8715 4 года назад +128

    Minutephysics: "There aren't that many tutorials on how to build a lava-moat."
    5 minute crafts: *Is that a challenge!?*

    • @hendrikpat
      @hendrikpat 4 года назад +12

      "Step one: Melt rocks."
      "Step two: Lick them to speed up the progress."

    • @lucifersdevilishdetails.
      @lucifersdevilishdetails. 4 года назад +5

      Get hot glue dye red go around your house there

    • @blindsloth364
      @blindsloth364 3 года назад

      troom troom is going to do this soon, get ready for glitter lava moat

  • @Kraigon42
    @Kraigon42 4 года назад +3

    It may just be the Texan in me, but I heard "a solar array 8km across" and thought, "yeah, that sounds pretty good, let's go with that option."

  • @mebamme
    @mebamme 4 года назад +389

    2:20 "which is clearly absurd".
    🤔

    • @Anvilshock
      @Anvilshock 4 года назад +27

      O ye of little ambition.

    • @davidshi451
      @davidshi451 4 года назад +27

      Even though he's building a lava moat, we still have to be reasonable!

    • @OrangeC7
      @OrangeC7 4 года назад +16

      @@davidshi451 I mean, you have to draw the line _somewhere_

    • @Anistuffs
      @Anistuffs 4 года назад +7

      I completely fail to understand why a lava moat of 8km diameter would be absurd. It's completely feasible and in fact, I'll prove it by making one. Just let me become filthy rich first and send the first outer solar system colonists out and I'll get to it, promise :)

    • @monad_tcp
      @monad_tcp 4 года назад +2

      @@Anistuffs it's absurd because you need batteries to power your lava at night

  • @mahrze
    @mahrze 4 года назад +228

    Marvel: 'Infinity War' Is The Most Ambitious Crossover Event In History.
    MinutePhysics and xkcd: Hold our doodles and comics

  • @renardleblanc5556
    @renardleblanc5556 4 года назад +26

    I kid you not, the day this video came out, my parents were installing geothermal heating in their house. Maaaybe I should ask if they have any plans for home security. Just to be prudent. X3

  • @diegovasquezcaballero
    @diegovasquezcaballero 3 года назад +14

    The best part of the joke is how they arbitrarily insert some "that would be absurd" lines from time to time. xD

    • @georgehiggins1320
      @georgehiggins1320 3 года назад

      Hey Diego, I don't know you at all, but I hope you know that there's something about you that you're the best at, and that you add so much value to the world!

  • @GS-wz9np
    @GS-wz9np 4 года назад +517

    I didn't really search for this, but nice to know...

  • @sodaPapa7176
    @sodaPapa7176 4 года назад +195

    I'm such a fool, spending my money on an "alarm system" clearly a lava moat is the way to go

    • @TheDeadMeme27
      @TheDeadMeme27 4 года назад +8

      just use [/gamemode creative] and fill the moat with a bucket of lava

    • @alexwang982
      @alexwang982 4 года назад +3

      But if it rains

    • @RileyIsntDead
      @RileyIsntDead 4 года назад +4

      @@alexwang982 The rain would boil off immediately. Unless a portal appears at the bottom of the ocean (hehe) and exits directly over your moat, water isn't going to be an issue.

    • @mrbuttocks6772
      @mrbuttocks6772 4 года назад +3

      Laminated windows, it stops burglars. Only idiots go through doors, it takes time to pick a lock and breaking one down makes ALOT of noise.

    • @alexwang982
      @alexwang982 4 года назад +4

      Duncan Price Yes but how are you gonna get past L A V A

  • @justas423
    @justas423 4 года назад +111

    When you REALLY don't like your neighbors.

  • @JoeManneke
    @JoeManneke 3 года назад +149

    minecraft players: hey look at my lava moat
    minutephysics: you can do it in the real world
    the media: this is why games are bad for you

    • @ButWhyMe...
      @ButWhyMe... 2 года назад +1

      karens: ban video games, books, and minutephysics, then legalize mandatory spyware

    • @Mister_Sun.
      @Mister_Sun. Год назад

      fact

  • @ltjgambrose
    @ltjgambrose 4 года назад +443

    "The moat needs to surround an array of solar panels 8 km across. Which is clearly absurd."
    Absolutely! That's a step too far.

    • @kewakl8891
      @kewakl8891 4 года назад +10

      probably only if the solar panels are lying flat.
      If they were tracking the sun and had MPPT ......
      Mirror array using lava instead of salt

    • @JannPoo
      @JannPoo 4 года назад +41

      Meanwhile having your personal nuclear plant is totally reasonable.

    • @anneaunyme
      @anneaunyme 4 года назад +4

      @@kewakl8891 making the solar panels track the sun don't make you win on space, it makes you win on the quantity of panels. (basically the energy you can get with a solar panel is proportional to the amount of shadow created if the land was flat, the only way you can "cheat" with that is by making some kind of wall of solar panels whose shadow would spread outside of your protected land)

    • @kewakl8891
      @kewakl8891 4 года назад +5

      @@anneaunyme an angle of less that 90 will cause a loss of some of the energy. But if you could power a lava moat, I think that you would also be able to cheat.

    • @anneaunyme
      @anneaunyme 4 года назад +5

      @@kewakl8891 That's true if you keep the same solar panel surface. That's not true if you just blindly cover all your surface with panels because you don't care about their cost (you probably are in that situation if you seriously consider installing this moat). Just do the math if you don't believe me (it is actually pretty easy to get it with a drawing but those are hard to do in youtube comments)

  • @OtiumAbscondita
    @OtiumAbscondita 4 года назад +173

    I like how in the intro they used the logic symbol "and".

    • @rgbii2
      @rgbii2 4 года назад +4

      In C/C++, that's the exclusive OR symbol.

    • @wojtekburzynski654
      @wojtekburzynski654 4 года назад +12

      @@rgbii2 Yes, but in maths its logical conjunction.

    • @OtiumAbscondita
      @OtiumAbscondita 4 года назад +4

      @@rgbii2 yes, but I talking about maths and logic.

    • @OtiumAbscondita
      @OtiumAbscondita 4 года назад +7

      @@lanye2708 nobody is talking about programming, why do you bring it up? We are talking about mathematics.

    • @kiyoponnn
      @kiyoponnn 4 года назад +3

      @@OtiumAbscondita ^ Doesn't this symbol show that a term/function is being raised to a power/exponent?

  • @someguy5944
    @someguy5944 3 года назад +16

    Me: * tries this *
    MY wife and electric bills: *_Gonna give you up_*

  • @Bellonging
    @Bellonging 4 года назад +52

    "Electricity costs around $0.10 per kWh"
    *Cries in Australian*

    • @ShroudedWolf51
      @ShroudedWolf51 3 года назад +1

      Isn't that just English?

    • @alexh2717
      @alexh2717 3 года назад +5

      ikr, in germany the average price is like 30-35 cents per kWh...

    • @lordbanetheplayer8844
      @lordbanetheplayer8844 3 года назад +1

      You could only use one Solar Panel in Australia. That would work fine.

    • @MrSupdup
      @MrSupdup 3 года назад +3

      I dunno man, I live in Brisbane and my power is ~$0.1639 per kWh. In USD that's $0.1261 (not adjusted for purchasing power), so only 2c more per kWh. Australian's get paid more than Americans, so I imagine adjusted for purchasing power 16c for us is about 10c for an American.

    • @robinvanderpal372
      @robinvanderpal372 3 месяца назад +1

      I was looking for a comment like this haha

  • @awesokestephen3494
    @awesokestephen3494 4 года назад +182

    I saw “with xkcd” and I was like “alright how ridiculous is this going to be”

    • @HappyBeezerStudios
      @HappyBeezerStudios 3 года назад +2

      I hope the next one is on how to build a machine gun jetpack. That one is pretty neat.

    • @ThePCguy17
      @ThePCguy17 3 года назад

      you didn't realize once you got past "how to build a lava moat?"

    • @ruler_of_everything
      @ruler_of_everything 2 года назад

      @@ThePCguy17 wym? lava moats are a very serious thing for homeowners to have.

    • @ThePCguy17
      @ThePCguy17 2 года назад

      @@ruler_of_everything But of course, how could I forget?

  • @jaridkeen123
    @jaridkeen123 4 года назад +236

    I love how they took this so serious like its a every day thing. No big deal!

    • @qwertyTRiG
      @qwertyTRiG 4 года назад +11

      It's very very xkcd!

    • @isaacz.8349
      @isaacz.8349 4 года назад +4

      Jarid Gaming you’re acting like you don’t have a lava moat... I thought everyone had one!

    • @obnoxiouspedant
      @obnoxiouspedant 4 месяца назад

      Wow that's like, the premise of the video, bro

  • @fatzpepper195
    @fatzpepper195 4 года назад +11

    Not going to lie. I searched for How to make a lava moat in Minecraft. Seen this video. Not disappointed.

  • @WesllyOni
    @WesllyOni 3 года назад +10

    I can't put into words how amazing this is, or the fact that such a book exists. I'm getting a copy right away.

  • @AlexVSharp
    @AlexVSharp 4 года назад +45

    The most informative video nobody ever needed. Thanks!

    • @peterbonnema8913
      @peterbonnema8913 4 года назад +2

      Tell that to the prepper community

    • @irok1
      @irok1 4 года назад +2

      Speak for yourself

  • @bat-7076
    @bat-7076 4 года назад +979

    Guys, just grab a bucket of lava.

    • @postlim
      @postlim 4 года назад +14

      jes just an iron one

    • @ordinaryshiba
      @ordinaryshiba 4 года назад +9

      because minecraft logic

    • @KainYusanagi
      @KainYusanagi 4 года назад +4

      @@ordinaryshiba Real-life logic, as lava's temperature is lower than iron's melting point. It'll heat up a lot, sure, but it'll also radiate that heat away a lot faster than the molten stone will give it to the metal.

    • @ordinaryshiba
      @ordinaryshiba 4 года назад

      @@KainYusanagi aka you get balsted by heat because it's radiating heat so quick, that's why you don't stand next to lava

    • @KainYusanagi
      @KainYusanagi 4 года назад +5

      @@ordinaryshiba Actually no, you can stand right next to lava just fine; even walk over it with minimal damage if you're quick enough at the point of contact, thanks to the leidenfrost effect (too slow and you'll sink in and be in for a seriously bad time, so, don't do it). In Hawaii, I think it was I saw video of, there have been people who have taken lawn chairs and sat them beside a lava flow and roasted weenies over the lava on long metal rods. It IS really quite hot still, obviously, but air is a terrible conductor of heat. Iron is a pretty poor conductor of heat, as well, taking it on slowly and dispersing it very quickly. If you've ever seen a blacksmith working on an iron ingot, you'd see just how quickly it cools down, and how even while eye-searing red hot, you can still be right beside it and not burn up. And the layer of lava right against the bucket walls would cool down rapidly and form an insulating layer between the molten core and the rest of the bucket, reducing the thermal energy conducted to the bucket further.

  • @Keeganator42
    @Keeganator42 День назад +1

    Thank you! My neighbors are so pesky and I was looking for this exactly.

  • @servantking1519
    @servantking1519 4 года назад +40

    Nice job! I was already a fan of both minutephysics and xkcd separately, but wow, that was good!

  • @adityaphatak8590
    @adityaphatak8590 4 года назад +35

    We can also make fresnel lens circle above the moat to at least keep it hot at day hence reducing power demand.

    • @dannymac6368
      @dannymac6368 2 года назад +2

      Thank you! I was looking for this in the comments but it was buried. Just set the lens up pointing towards a huge cliff, let new lava continuously flow in. Bonus: you can now terraform!

  • @AreCeeEffEx
    @AreCeeEffEx 4 года назад +22

    I didn't realize I wanted this video but I got it and I'm grateful.

  • @singerofsongs468
    @singerofsongs468 4 года назад +1

    This. THIS is why I’m majoring in chemical engineering. This is why I’m struggling through thermodynamics rn. Thank you for giving my college journey a greater sense of purpose.

  • @csheadtrip
    @csheadtrip 4 года назад +3

    This is my favorite collab of 2019. MOAR!

  • @saltier1976
    @saltier1976 4 года назад +146

    Finally, i can protect my Minecraft house, Thanks minutephysics!

    • @jettaeschroff6924
      @jettaeschroff6924 4 года назад +16

      *proceeds to burn house down*

    • @loganricherson3749
      @loganricherson3749 4 года назад +5

      @@jettaeschroff6924 just like in minecraft

    • @mwperk02
      @mwperk02 4 года назад +2

      @@jettaeschroff6924 I built my house out of cobblestone. Try burning that I dare you.

  • @jpe1
    @jpe1 4 года назад +7

    The final suggestion of using geothermal won’t be easy. The challenge with using geothermal to melt rocks is finding a suitable liquid to transport the needed energy. You would need something that would phase transition at over 1200°C at some reasonable pressure, and then you would need some even higher melting point material from which to fabricate the piping and heat exchangers needed. Copper pipes aren’t going to cut it!

    • @MinutePhysics
      @MinutePhysics  4 года назад +6

      The final solution is to use geothermal to generate electricity in the normal way, then heat the lava with the electric heating coils as normal :)

  • @zachdurocher1166
    @zachdurocher1166 4 года назад +31

    "Reasonable-sized lava moat"

  • @ludvig9184
    @ludvig9184 4 года назад +3

    Thank you! Finally a proper serious how to guide on youtube that people might get some actual practical use for.

  • @iennternet
    @iennternet 4 года назад +113

    I work hard in school so that one day I can afford my own lava moat.

  • @minimumviableplayer1402
    @minimumviableplayer1402 4 года назад +5

    Randall should make a how-to guide for villains. Next chapter: how to mount a laser on a shark.

  • @narutolikestoes9028
    @narutolikestoes9028 3 года назад +1

    Thank you sooo much, I've been looking for this for soooo long thx

  • @mordiemannogenost69
    @mordiemannogenost69 Год назад

    Much appriciated! Really needed this right now.

  • @amoghlal
    @amoghlal 4 года назад +17

    Thanks for the video!
    The inability to build a lava moat had been bugging me for quite a while!

  • @ejhickey
    @ejhickey 4 года назад +7

    I love DIY videos like this that focus on practical solutions to problems that everyone has pondered from time to time . I mean a Lava Moat is the perfect solution for those who want to keep their home secure but don't like guns or the expense and trouble of security systems . /s

  • @_cider_8837
    @_cider_8837 3 года назад +18

    "Ferb, I know what we're gonna do today..."

    • @mrsnake9642
      @mrsnake9642 3 года назад +2

      it's a bit weak for a phineas and ferb episode

    • @_cider_8837
      @_cider_8837 3 года назад +1

      @@mrsnake9642 Yeah..

  • @nickscurvy8635
    @nickscurvy8635 4 года назад +1

    you're amazing, xkcd is amazing, and it makes my heart happy every time I see yall collaborate

  • @bexowr
    @bexowr 4 года назад +79

    I'm a simple man; I see xkcd, I click

  • @IceMetalPunk
    @IceMetalPunk 4 года назад +9

    If Randall is okay with it, I would LOVE to see more of these How To Minute Physics videos. It's not that I can't read the book, it's just that I like your voice saying these things :D

  • @arjovenzia
    @arjovenzia 5 месяцев назад

    +1 can recommend. Both the book and instructions within. Has vastly improved my life.

  • @msmoobutgamer5527
    @msmoobutgamer5527 4 года назад +1

    thank you so much, i was looking everywhere for this

  • @carsonlight_lapse6394
    @carsonlight_lapse6394 4 года назад +992

    Probably there will be a sea of Minecraft comment down there

    • @DJAvren
      @DJAvren 4 года назад +58

      But then that sea can be used in combination with the lava to make obsidian, so it's not too bad

    • @Norcon72
      @Norcon72 4 года назад +1

      *is

    • @NJ-wb1cz
      @NJ-wb1cz 4 года назад +1

      @@DJAvren obsidian is brittle weak crap so yeah, that's pretty bad

    • @nathanlevesque7812
      @nathanlevesque7812 4 года назад

      @@NJ-wb1cz brittle but insanely sharp.

    • @NJ-wb1cz
      @NJ-wb1cz 4 года назад

      @@nathanlevesque7812 sharpness is a function of manufacturing process, not some raw material simply appearing out of nowhere being insanely sharp

  • @joythegeek4571
    @joythegeek4571 4 года назад +3

    I'm so glad quality content like this exists.
    Thanks so much for the advice this video cleared up so much

  • @macsnafu
    @macsnafu 4 года назад +1

    XKCD. Answering questions nobody asked for years!

  • @wipeoutmax
    @wipeoutmax 5 месяцев назад

    After 4 years, this video reappeared again in my feed.
    Watched it again, still 2 thumbs up ^^

  • @justgame5508
    @justgame5508 4 года назад +5

    Randall Munroe brought out a new book!?! I know what I’m doing for the rest of the day. Absolutely loved his What if? and article

  • @aaronspacee
    @aaronspacee 4 года назад +6

    finally, really needed a tutorial for this for *reasons*

  • @OrionBlitz256
    @OrionBlitz256 3 года назад

    Thanks. I'll get started in the morning.

  • @skorpius2029
    @skorpius2029 4 года назад +15

    Apocalypse survivor builds lava moat around his base and whole power plant just to run it.
    Man with a bucket of water: "i'm about to end this moat's career"

  • @link2498
    @link2498 4 года назад +6

    This is low-key an advertisement for why we should use geo-thermal as a source of energy. Love it.

  • @kangalio
    @kangalio 4 года назад +3

    This is a really great ad! Fun to watch, subtle, precisely describes what the book is about, and it also interests me! Honestly great job 👌

  • @pajamesie
    @pajamesie 3 года назад

    FINALLY! A TUTORIAL! I’ve been searching for hours!

  • @GlaDOS.CAROLCORE
    @GlaDOS.CAROLCORE 7 дней назад

    10/10 This guide was just what I was looking for. You must make more of these guides.
    Or maybe you could help me with a few tests yourself, either is fine with me.
    So pick one.

  • @Yalikejazzboi
    @Yalikejazzboi 4 года назад +34

    Only 8km across to be powered by on site solar? I'm building one now.

  • @johnyliltoe
    @johnyliltoe 4 года назад +7

    It took me a moment for me to process what I was reading. xkcd? YES!

  • @jugzster
    @jugzster 3 года назад +4

    How To is a hilarious and surprisingly educational book. Highly recommended. More videos like this please!

  • @bluey-next777
    @bluey-next777 2 месяца назад +2

    1:56
    9 billion year later sun:
    AM I A JOKE TO YOU?

  • @DarkThomy
    @DarkThomy 4 года назад +6

    Once again something I didn't know I needed to learn..!
    ...but how many zombies could it repel ?

    • @antivirusexe2856
      @antivirusexe2856 4 года назад

      All of them?

    • @DarkThomy
      @DarkThomy 4 года назад

      @@antivirusexe2856 Yeah I somehow thought the lava would.. fill itself over time.

  • @teeblackgold97
    @teeblackgold97 4 года назад +54

    Nobody:
    Minutephysics: How to Build a Lava Moat (with xkcd).

    • @DerangedScout
      @DerangedScout 4 года назад +8

      Hurr-durr NoBoDy

    • @JamesTheFoxeArt
      @JamesTheFoxeArt 4 года назад +5

      Minecrafters:Am I a joke to you

    • @AmeshaSpentaArmaiti
      @AmeshaSpentaArmaiti 4 года назад +4

      I saw someon point out that "Nobody saying nothing means everbody is saying something," and now the meme is ruined for me.

    • @hugebuffman3619
      @hugebuffman3619 4 года назад +2

      @@AmeshaSpentaArmaiti Everybody:
      Minutephysics: How to Build a Lava Moat (with xkcd).

  • @a.muhyee4156
    @a.muhyee4156 4 года назад

    been looking for a tutorial forever thanks it helped so much

  • @eschelar
    @eschelar 2 месяца назад

    Informative AND useful.

  • @touchofthorn1841
    @touchofthorn1841 4 года назад +36

    I thought this was a Minecraft tutorial video for a good 2 seconds

  • @Depleted-Uranium
    @Depleted-Uranium 4 года назад +4

    Minutephysics:*plays minecraft once*
    Minutephysics: oh yeah, it’s big brain time

  • @KadenCollett
    @KadenCollett 5 месяцев назад

    thanks, just what I was looking for!

  • @jasons7222
    @jasons7222 4 года назад

    I love how serious this guy is, this is a very real option for him

  • @RoboBoddicker
    @RoboBoddicker 4 года назад +6

    I misheard, and ended up with a guava moat.
    But it's much more delicious this way.

    • @darthvader2994
      @darthvader2994 4 года назад

      No dude that's guaNO (bat poo) don't be eating that!
      (I had to Google "bat poo" to remember the word)

  • @Master_Therion
    @Master_Therion 4 года назад +375

    While interesting, I didn't find this video re-moat-ly useful.

    • @dandanthedandan7558
      @dandanthedandan7558 4 года назад +24

      Take your like and leave

    • @xelyd7989
      @xelyd7989 4 года назад +16

      This joke made me *melt* with laughter.......
      I know its a bad joke.. I'll take my leave now

    • @ten.seconds
      @ten.seconds 4 года назад +14

      People like you are why we need lava moats.

    • @CrazyNerdMonkey
      @CrazyNerdMonkey 4 года назад +19

      I found it very moativating.

    • @DickHolman
      @DickHolman 4 года назад +3

      Thanks, we'll let you know.
      Next!

  • @cipherxen2
    @cipherxen2 4 года назад

    You are a life saver man. This is the one video I was looking for.

  • @Blubb5000
    @Blubb5000 3 года назад

    *FINALLY* some practical advice for my every day life. Thanks!!!

  • @sambalsamurai9672
    @sambalsamurai9672 4 года назад +5

    hahahah my favourite parts:
    0:25 _"To reduce energy consumption, its _*_tempting_*_ to choose a kind of rock that melts at a lower temperature"_ +1
    2:39 _"You'll need to bring outside fuel to power your power plant, so your lava moat won't be entirely off-grid." GOLDEN! +1000

  • @sharon-gm3ih
    @sharon-gm3ih 4 года назад +105

    Earth: **creates extreme heat at its core**
    Humans: tHaT i CaN uSe FoR a LaVa MoAt

    • @cameronneveu7277
      @cameronneveu7277 4 года назад +20

      what if the center of the earth created a lava moat to keep us out of it?

    • @sharon-gm3ih
      @sharon-gm3ih 4 года назад +3

      @@cameronneveu7277 🤔🤔🤔🤔

    • @HappyBeezerStudios
      @HappyBeezerStudios 3 года назад

      Yeah, just dig a deep hole and you get your lava.

    • @oldsarj
      @oldsarj 3 года назад

      @@HappyBeezerStudios A REALLY deep hole.

  • @rollingdeep4723
    @rollingdeep4723 3 года назад

    Bless you for advertising such an entretaining, uneducational (most stuff ends in explosions or close to death situations) and fun read :).

  • @deadtornadoe6383
    @deadtornadoe6383 4 года назад

    I was wondering how to do this, thank you for the help!

  • @osmo2384
    @osmo2384 4 года назад +4

    The US government needs to install one of these using this video in preparation for September 20th.

  • @davefoc
    @davefoc 4 года назад +7

    I can see some problems with the city over your lava moat. It might be a good idea to pull permits before you start work. It would be really annoying to be almost finished with your lava moat and have the city shut you down because you don't have a permit. You will probably need to be ready for some fights with the planning department. They may not be as enthused about a lava moat in their city as you are.

  • @arthurribas3344
    @arthurribas3344 3 года назад

    very usefull video, thank you so much

  • @Loading_rta
    @Loading_rta 2 года назад

    Thank you! I will make it with reference to this.