What would it look like if a human (with the proper protection) walked across a lava stream?

Assume that 'proper protection' means

• some way of insulating against the heat so that they don't get cooked alive (insulation does not hold forever, but at least a couple of hours before the human loses consciousness due to overheating - should be enough time to cross a single lava stream),
• clean air supply so that they don't choke on the hot or toxic gases
• enough high-tech that the human's foot print isn't much larger than a normal human foot print (at most +5cm on all sides)
• weighs less than 20kg, so assume that the total weight of human + protection is around 100kg
• non-stick - none of the lava sticks to the protection

Since lava is rock, will the human just walk along the surface of the lava stream like across a slightly spongy surface? Or will they sink in to their ankles / knees and have to slog through something resembling jelly?

Will they get carried away by the lava flow? Will their weight make enough of a dent in the surface tension that they get something resembling a 'grip', or will it be more like trying to walk on moving ice with next to no friction (due to the non-stick property)? Or like walking across a water bed? Will they even break surface tension?

Does it matter which kind of lava it is (highly viscous lava vs. not very viscous)? Does the temperature of the lava matter as long as the stream does not have a solid cover?

Are there any other dangers to walking across a lava stream that I missed except the temperature and the gases? Assume that I have seen several nature documentaries of volcanic eruptions, but do not know anything else about how lava flows.

TL;DR

Assuming temperature and breathing issues are negated by proper protection, what would it look like if a human crossed a lava stream? Are there other hazards that 'proper protection' does not cover yet?

I am looking for an answer that has as much hard science as possible to support the results. (Except for the handwavey 'proper protection'.)

posted over 4 years ago

subrunner‭

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