Most wood still has an element of moisture in it.. That's why it makes a popping/cracking sound when it burns. It's the sound of the last of the resin and moisture escaping under pressure from the heat/fire.
It is treated for rot (usually with Boron or similar). It isn't treated for fire in the UK (under the regs) and it isn't in NZ (under the code) either- I know because that is my job. I should add that I am not talking about board/ lining materials which may require a class 1 or 0 rating given their locations. I am talking about structural timber which was my original point. For completeness, in the UK BS EN 1995-1-2:2004 is used to calculate the amount of sacrificial timber required on structural members due to charring.
You know, I've always wondered where he got the paint from... and the time, too. Re Hobbit - truth be told, I'm not even sure the wheelbarrow should be floating at all in molten gold. I mean... gold? Wouldn't it just sink?
They did it in the original Lord of the Rings movies. They showed slow-mo shots of Boromir dying tragically along with fast-paced kick-ass scenes of Aragon, Gimli, and Legolas going to town on the orcs. What are you trying to do, movie!? Are you trying to get me to cheer at the action or feel sad because one of the main characters is dying? It got worse in The Two Towers where they make a big deal about how horribly tragic and hopeless the Helms Deep battle is, how this is basically Rohan's last, final 'you'll never take us alive!' before they all get slaughtered. They show children and elderly men who look way past retirement age arming themselves because there's just not enough soldiers to fight the incoming apocalypse! Then it's back to the action with Legolas and Gimli playing 'How many Orcs can I kill?' between each other. Return of the King basically showed us that no one had ever heard of basic first aid because the instant Faramir's unconscious body gets hauled into Gondor, everyone other than Pippin and Gandalf are like, "Welp, he's dead. Prepare the funeral pyre!"
it wouldn't burn instantly, it would first blacken, then begin to smoke... besides, it could be some fantasy fireproof wood. wouldn't that be the most logical solution if you were a dwarf working in very hot conditions?
the older wood gets the tougher it gets, and the harder to burn. that wheelbarrow had been sat there so long it had probably petrified.
As big as Smaug is, he was submerged in coins so it would be like us being submerged in sand. And as for the barrow - there is probably an explanation in the book but I need telling that explanation!
And even then, I doubt Smaug would be anything but annoyed if he found a coin in his nostril. He'd just sneeze it out (or swallow it) and stick his head back in the mountain of gold
which raises another question .... Why didn't all the coins melt when he filled the cavern with flames? If the heat was enough to start the furnaces and turn the gold to a molten river then how come the coins (and other treasures) remained intact?
No, not all wood does that. It all depends on the type of wood. Some species will do that while others will become brittle and will ignite into flames with little more than a spark from a flint.
perhaps the heat required to start the furnaces was lower than the melting point of gold, then once they started they could heat up further. moreover, doesnt god have to have the heat applied directly to it for several minutes to become molten? the flames lasted a few seconds a piece and were not directed towards the gold.
Oh, man! If only there was a way for you to know without me telling you. Then you wouldn't be bothering me, and have a wonderful literary experience. Not sure what that way would be, but I'll bet you're local librarian would know.
I can't see them using any kind of wood in a furnace! Except maybe to start the fire in the first place.
Depends which type of metal they use ... Think I'm going to just have to get my brain to switch off on this one as we seem to be going around in circles.
