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How a snowball survived getting submerged into molten steel

Published Feb 11th, 2016 11:25PM EST
GE Snowball Molten Hell Experiment Video
Image: GE Reports

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Do snowballs have a chance in hell? Up for a good challenge, the engineers over at GE set out to answer that question as part of the company’s celebration of Thomas Edison’s birthday this year.

What GE attempted to do was to submerge a snowball in molten steel and see if it survives. Of course, the snowball was clothed in high-tech materials. By itself, it wouldn’t stand a chance. And, naturally, there’s video for this imaginative stunt.

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GE created a nickel-based alloy lined with a fibrous insulation made of alumina silicate to protect the snowball. Before putting it inside the vessel, GE placed the snowball in a 3D-printed spherical plastic container that was surrounded with dry ice.

After securing the cargo, GE poured molten steel on top of the special vessel, surrounding it with temperatures of up to 1,100 degrees Celsius. Meanwhile, inside the nickel container, temperatures were supposed to stay at around minus 100 Celsius. And they did.

Yes, GE pulled off the trick, proving that it’s got the skills to come up with materials that can withstand brutal conditions.

Check out the video below to see how GE did it, and read more details about it at this link.

Chris Smith Senior Writer

Chris Smith has been covering consumer electronics ever since the iPhone revolutionized the industry in 2008. When he’s not writing about the most recent tech news for BGR, he brings his entertainment expertise to Marvel’s Cinematic Universe and other blockbuster franchises.

Outside of work, you’ll catch him streaming almost every new movie and TV show release as soon as it's available.