Hot Stuff

Lava is molten rock that is expelled from volcanoes and as it flows it solidifies. It's temperature varies from 700 °C to 1,200 °C (1,300 °F to 2,200 °F). Lava flows occur in non-explosive effusive eruptions, whereas explosive eruptions tend to cause volcanic ash. That's all well and good, but there is so much more to lava than it's hotness, it's what's on the inside that counts. Lava is generally broken up into four different types based on its chemical  composition. Felsic lava has a high silica and aluminum content with small amounts of iron and magnesium. Intermediate lava has a higher iron and magnesium content. Mafic lava has an even higher iron and magnesium content, and ultramafic has the highest magnesium content, but the earth has cooled down too much to even produce this kind of lava anymore. Crazy. And now a sweet video.

Friction Welding

Friction can be your best friend or your worst enemy. If you're trying to make a efficient engine, plane, boat, car, or basically anything with moving parts, friction is not your friend. However, if you want that car to move, friction on the tires is what allows that to happen. Also, if you don't like to slip and fall, then friction is your friend. But if you do fall, friction is what gives you a cut. But if there weren't any friction you'd still get a bruise. Blah blah blah.

In the case of friction welding, friction is what gets the job done. It heats up two cylinders that are in contact and spinning very fast relative to each other. Pressure makes sure they stay in contact to form a good weld. It's most often used to weld pipes, but like it the video, it can also weld solid cylinders. I think it could do rods of a non-circular cross section, but the corners would probably get pretty funky.