History Main / ConvectionSchmonvection

* ''Film/TheHobbitTheDesolationOfSmaug'': In a scene that was not in the book, Thorin and the Company attempt to kill Smaug by flooding him with liquid gold from a Dwarven furnace (it doesn't work). There is a chase sequence where Thorin lays down on a metal wheelbarrow to [[LavaSurfing surf the river of molten gold]] that erupts from the furnace, with no ill effects whatsoever. Never mind that he should have been fried almost instantly --laying metal down over a source of heat ''is how skillets and frying pans work''. Plus, there are several times when the heroes take cover in some way from Smaug's fire breath, and are completely OK being mere feet (or even inches) away from a massive inferno. They must have [[TableTopGame/DungeonsAndDragons Improved Evasion]].

[[quoteright:300:[[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/convection_1368.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:300:"I packed my sunscreen. I'm fine."]]

* ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'' does this during the scene at the incinerator when the toys are about to burn in the fire. They are close to touching the fire, but they don’t melt, despite being made of plastic.

[[folder:Fanfiction]]

See also: LavaPit, LavaIsBoilingKoolAid, BattleAmongstTheFlames, DoNotTouchTheFunnelCloud, HailfirePeaks, HollywoodFire, ThermalDissonance, HarmlessElectrocution, LavaSurfing, and HarmlessFreezing. ToastedBuns and LavaAddsAwesome are related tropes.

* In Disney's version of ''WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndTheFrog'', we have a scene where Tiana and Naveen as frogs are sitting on the edge of a bathtub. The bathtub is sitting in a fire and being used to cook gumbo, which is boiling hot. But, hey, an inch away sitting on bare metal, what's the problem? [[AWizardDidIt Though this can perhaps be justified by the fact the bathtub also doubles as a magic cauldron.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/Frozen2013'': When the heroes go to visit Kristoff's troll family, Olaf does not melt, or even thaw a little, despite walking between what appear to be geysers of steam, and this is well before he gets his personal flurry. The steam suggests that the area where the trolls live has geothermal features, which are the reason why it stays clear of snow while the rest of Arendelle is snowed in.

Lava is also rarely found just calmly lying around — when it slows, it has time to cool and harden. If it's been liquid for any appreciable length of time, it will probably [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAxj2ob_JoU look like this.]] This is a subtrope of ArtisticLicensePhysics.

Occasionally you may see the visual effects of convection in the form of distortion of heated air — which will still be safe to be near, as long as you don't touch the magma itself.

For some reason, the reverse is demonstrated a bit more realistically; characters will feel cold in a cave or other area that's in perpetual winter, or frigid enough to have ice form on the walls. However, as long as they bundle up, the most they'll ever get is a longing for some hot cocoa and a warm fireplace. This, too, can be attributed to RuleOfCool (or the other [[SlippySlideyIceWorld rule o]][[StealthPun f cool]]).

* Averted in ComicBook/ThePunisherMax ''Barracuda'' spinoff; when President Luna falls from a helicopter into a volcano, we see him catch on fire in mid-air before he hits the lava.

* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1942'': HandWaved In one of the ComicBook/WonderGirl Impossible Tales Diana jumps into a bubbling volcano to retrieve her lasso, and while doing so thinks to herself how handy it is all Amazons "train" to be more heat resilient since a regular person would die doing what she's doing.

* A rare inversion happens in ''WesternAnimation/Frozen2013''.
** In their childhood, Anna and Elsa play in the snow dressed in their nightgowns and seem perfectly comfortable. [[AnIcePerson Elsa]] is [[RequiredSecondaryPowers immune to the cold]] but Anna isn't.
** At the end of "Do You Want To Build A Snowman?" Elsa is sitting against the door, and has flash-frozen it and the surrounding walls to the point where snow is raining from the ceiling. Anna's sitting against the same door on the other side, but has no reaction to how the door would feel.
** Twice in the film characters fall into water (Anna, then Sven) and are perfectly safe once they climb out despite that it's freezing cold out. Getting wet in freezing temperatures is bad, and getting out of the water does not remove the danger. Anna's dress freezes but it is PlayedForLaughs, and since she immediately goes into Wandering Oaken's Trading Post and Sauna moments later, it probably wouldn't be that serious. Sven, on the other hand, even if he is a reindeer, would potentially have been in trouble after he falls through ice into freezing water, even though he climbs out, had [[spoiler: Elsa not ended the winter so soon after]].
** When the heroes go to visit Kristoff's troll family, Olaf does not melt, or even thaw a little, despite walking between what appear to be geysers of steam, and this is well before he gets his personal flurry. The steam suggests that the area where the trolls live has geothermal features, which are the reason why it stays clear of snow while the rest of Arendelle is snowed in.
* ''WesternAnimation/FrozenII'': Anna holds an ice sword [[https://i.redd.it/sgm9fpd85ho31.png without any gloves]], which should make the sword incredibly difficult to hold.

* ''When Time Ran Out'' is about a volcanic eruption that imperils vacationers in a Hawaiian resort. The characters often come implausibly close to the lava, including a daring lava-pit rescue by Burgess Meredith (as a retired high-wire artist).

* The plot [[ExcusePlot (such as it was)]] of the now-discontinued ''Ride/BackToTheFutureTheRide'' at Ride/UniversalStudios involved the guests using Doc Brown's flying TimeMachine to chase Biff (who had stolen the more familiar [=DeLorean=]) through several time periods, cumulating in a prehistoric era with a river of lava and a lava-waterfall; Biff [[DirtyCoward is panicked by the sight of it]], but unharmed.

* [[http://kvts.smackjeeves.com/comics/365423/its-solid/ A particularly blatant example.]]
* [[http://wayofthemetagamer.thecomicseries.com/comics/pl/34423 Lampshaded in]] ''WebComic/TheWayOfTheMetagamer''.

** In their childhood, Anna and Elsa play in the snow dressed in their nightgowns and seem perfectly comfortable. [[AnIcePerson Elsa]] is [[RequiredSecondaryPowers immune to cold]] but Anna isn't.

* ''WesternAnimation/FrozenII'': Anna wields an ice sword created for her by Elsa. Thing is, [[https://i.redd.it/sgm9fpd85ho31.png she's holding it without any gloves]], which should make the sword incredibly difficult to hold.

** In ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'' the final battle between Obi-Wan and Anakin takes place on a molten planet. We see that the station they are fighting on requires special shielding from the molten lava surrounding it, and when this shield is disabled the station rapidly begins to disintegrate, averting this trope. Also at the end of the fight, Anakin bursts into flames on the shore of a lava river despite never touching the actual lava. On the other, there are multiple instances throughout the fight when Obi-Wan and Anakin fight above or near unshielded lava with no ill effects, leaving this a ZigZaggingTrope. Maybe they just [[HandWave used the Force]] to shield themselves.

* ''In Webcomic/RustyAndCo'' [[spoiler:Madeline]] [[http://rustyandco.com/comic/level-7-79/ jumps out of a pit with lava at the bottom and deftly lands, singed but mostly unharmed.]]

* In ''Film/DragonballEvolution'', Goku forms a series of stepping stones across a pit of lava, with corpses. The other characters walk around the edge of the area to meet back up with him.

* ''Film/TheHobbitTheDesolationOfSmaug'': In a scene that was not in the book, Thorin and the Company attempt to kill Smaug by flooding him with liquid gold from a Dwarven furnace (it doesn't work). There is a chase sequence where Thorin and Bilbo lay down on metal shields to [[LavaSurfing surf the river of molten gold]] that erupts from the furnace, with no ill effects whatsoever. Never mind that they should have been fried almost instantly --laying metal down over a source of heat ''is how skillets and frying pans work''-- and that gold has a considerably higher melting point than steel. Plus, there are several times when the heroes take cover in some way from Smaug's fire breath, and are completely OK being mere feet (or even inches) away from a massive inferno. They must have [[TableTopGame/DungeonsAndDragons Improved Evasion]].

* The ''Comicbook/FantasticFour'''s Human Torch can safely carry people and objects by extinguishing the flame on his hands. Being right next to the ''rest'' of his flaming body is apparently not a problem (though, admittedly, it would be much hotter above the Torch than next to him). It has been said that The Human Torch can control who/what he burns with his flame. It's not always followed, though.
* In ''ComicBook/SecretWars'', when the Torch uses his "nova flame" to take out ComicBook/{{Ultron}}, it burns so hot that it melts clean through the surrounding solid-metal walls and floor. When the smoke clears, Captain America, who was standing a few yards away and protected only by huddling his upper body behind his shield, is perfectly unharmed. Apparently, his body's melting point is a lot higher than that of whatever alien metal was used to build Doombase. His shield absorbs kinetic energy, not heat.

* During the events of ''ComicBook/AbsoluteCarnage,'' Sleeper slobbers napalm all over Hybrid for Hawkeye to ignite. Both Dylan and Sleeper dramatically watch the symbiote burst into flames from a few feet away until there's nothing left but a hole in the ground. In truth, both of them should have been burnt to a crisp, as napalm burns at a temperature of 2,760 degrees Celcius or 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit, about half as hot as the surface of the sun.

** Twice in the film characters fall into water (Anna, then Sven) and are perfectly safe once they climb out despite that it's freezing cold out. Getting wet in freezing temperatures is bad, and getting out of the water does not remove the danger. Anna's dress freezes but it is PlayedForLaughs, and since she immediately goes into Wandering Oaken's Trading Post and Sauna moments later, it probably wouldn't be that serious. Sven, on the other hand, even if he is a reindeer, would potentially have been in trouble after he falls through ice into freezing water, even though he climbs out, had [[spoiler: Elsa not ended the winter so soon after.]]

* Disaster movie ''Film/TheDayAfterTomorrow'', among other examples of terrible, terrible science featured a scene where a main character runs down a hallway where the temperature is dropping so fast that moisture in the air turns to ice on the walls in less than a second. Despite the fact that he's only wearing normal clothes and a coat, our hero seems to be in no danger as long as he doesn't let the rapidly forming ice catch him -- the air a few feet in front of the death zone is only somewhat chilly (and moving slower than a running human). He also manages to hold back the cold entirely by entering a room with a fireplace and shutting the door, but that's a different issue.

** ''Film/QuantumofSolace'' has a climactic fight in a hotel that's burning down. None of the combatants have any trouble breathing, talking, seeing, or fighting. Bond even runs through flames to rescue a woman having a PTSD episode, and then the two of them run through a burning, collapsing wall. No one gets burned.

* Used in [[TheFilmOfTheBook the movie version]] of ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings: The Return of the King'', in which two barefoot hobbits were able to walk on the rock of an erupting volcano, only a few feet from the flowing lava on either side. However, the soles on Hobbit feet are about as leathery as shoes (and in theory the rock they were walking on hadn't had time to heat up yet--rock's a pretty bad conductor). When Gollum and the One Ring fall into the Crack of Doom, neither show any signs of burning even when Gollum gets completely submerged.

** In ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'' the final battle between Obi-Wan and Anakin takes place on a molten planet. We see that the station they are fighting on requires special shielding from the molten lava surrounding it, and when this shield is disabled the station rapidly begins to disintegrate, averting this trope. Also at the end of the fight, Anakin bursts into flames on the shore of a lava river despite never touching the actual lava. On the other, there are multiple instances throughout the fight when Obi-Wan and Anakin fight above or near unshielded lava with no ill effects, leaving this a {{Zigzagged|Trope}} trope. Maybe they just [[HandWave used the Force]] to shield themselves.
* The infamous Film/SyFyChannelOriginalMovie ''Raptor Island'' features a scene where the female lead runs across a tree over a river of lava.
** It's also a good thing air doesn't conduct heat-- at least in that movie, apparently, since that's the meaning of "convection". (Also there's heat-radiation.)

* ''Literature/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents'': Well, technically "Radiation Schmadiation." In TheFilmOfTheBook, Klaus uses Olaf's sunlight-refracting weapon to incinerate the wedding contract. The instant the sunlight hits the paper, it catches on fire. That means the thing was heated to about 400 degrees Farenheit just like that. Never mind the fact that Klaus perfectly lined up the device to hit such a small target, how come Olaf's hand didn't get singed? Or, you know, the stage didn't catch fire? There should at least have been smoke, considering how easily the paper went up.

* A rare inversion happens in ''WesternAnimation/Frozen2013''. At the end of "Do You Want To Build A Snowman?" Elsa is sitting against the door, and has flash-frozen it and the surrounding walls to the point where snow is raining from the ceiling. Anna, on the other side, should feel a noticeable difference in temperature, but doesn't.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'' has plenty of fun with lava. Mr. Incredible gets awfully close to it during his first fight with the Omnidroid, while the Omnidroid actually falls into the lava, and emerges unscathed, even though it's so hot it's glowing orange. Maybe heat resistance is another of Mr. Incredible's superpowers (he seemed just fine in the scene in the burning apartment); maybe the Omnidroid was made from heat-resistant {{Unobtainium}}. Either way, there's no excuse for non-superpowered Syndrome (and presumably Mirage) not being cooked alive by the secret passageway with [[CoolButInefficient walls made of flowing lava]]. Maybe they had force fields or something.

* ''WesternAnimation/FrozenII'': Anna wields an ice sword created for her by Elsa. Thing is, [[https://i.redd.it/sgm9fpd85ho31.png she's holding it without any gloves]], which should make the sword incredibly difficult to hold. Then again, considering Anna has [[https://i0.wp.com/www.caps.media/201/3-frozenbr/full/frozen-disneyscreencaps.com-9888.jpg?strip=all literally frozen over completely]], combined with the fact it's a ''magical'' sword.

* ''Film/{{Volcano}}'' is a repeat offender;

* Somewhat justified in ''Literature/EmilyTheStrangeTheLostDays''. While the liquid black rock was stated to feel as if it was burning Earwig, it did so in a nice way and apparently wasn't hot per se. Basically, it was magic lava.

* In the first ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfThomasCovenant'', the giant Foamfollower carries Covenant across Hotash Slay, a river of lava. Foamfollower, being a giant, is immune to fire and so can withstand the heat of the lava; Covenant, however, should have been fried before Foamfollower even stepped into the river. There is some effort at {{Hand Wav|e}}ing this -- it is implied that Covenant's ring is involved -- but still, it's fairly ludicrous.
** Well, Covenant ''is'' torn between believing that the Land is real or the opposite. It could use some lampshading.

* In ''Film/TheSaint1997'', a fusion reaction is contained in a '''glass jar'''. ''Stars'' are powered by fusion reactions. Stars in general are not known for their utter lack of heat. Note that was cold fusion, which doesn't actually "work" but that's how you're supposed to do it in real life: Electrodes in a glass jar.

* The scene in ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheTempleOfDoom'' where Willie (the woman) was raised and lowered in an iron cage. She was lowered so close to the molten rock that she should have burst into flames. Just in case the whole "beating heart" thing wasn't [[strike: stupid]] awesome enough...

** The {{novelization}} goes into full detail of how excruciating the experience was for poor Willie. At one point it even explicitly says that her eyelashes singe and her dress starts smoking, and she eventually passes out from the high temperature.

* In ''Film/DragonballEvolution'', Goku forms a series of stepping stones across a pit of lava, with corpses. The other characters had to walk around the edge of the area to meet back up with him. This could be because, as mentioned in many other pages, Goku is a super-powered alien and survived something like this in the original anime more than once. Or it could be because this incarnation of [[IdiotHero Goku]] is ''incredibly'' dumb and completely missed the safer, cooler path around the pit.
** [[WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic THE FLOOR IS LITERALLY LAVA!]]

* Despite breaking many scientific rules, ''Film/TheCore'' actually averted this nicely. One crewman has to step outside safe area of the ship, never touches lava, and still burns to death. He '''was''' wearing a protective suit -- which is the only reason he could even open the door without immediately bursting into flame while simultaneously imploding from the intense heat and pressure. Previously they had to use liquid nitrogen, the ship's coolant, to exit the ship without bursting into flames. The crew is notably sweating through the rest of the movie, even while in the ship.

* ''WesternAnimation/FrozenII'': Anna wields an ice sword created for her by Elsa. Thing is, [[https://i.redd.it/sgm9fpd85ho31.png she's holding it without any gloves]], which should make the sword incredibly difficult to hold. Then again, considering Anna has [[https://i0.wp.com/www.caps.media/201/3-frozenbr/full/frozen-disneyscreencaps.com-9888.jpg?strip=all literally frozen over completely]], combined with the fact it's a ''magical'' sword Elsa created just for Anna...

* The climax of ''WesternAnimation/TheJungleBook2'' apparently takes place inside an old temple that's for some reason built inside a volcanic pit. Mowgli, Shanti, Ranjan, Baloo, and Bagheera actually lure Shere Khan inside the temple, where they attempt to distract the tiger by hitting gongs, but when that doesn't work, they simply throw Khan into a pool of lava. Khan survives the fall, thanks to a rocky ledge overhanging the lava, but is immediately trapped inside a giant stone tiger head that also fell inside the pool of lava. As soon as the heroes leave the volcanic temple, [[FridgeHorror the vultures arrive...]]
** [[NightmareRetardant And proceed to make really bad jokes.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'' did this during the scene at the incinerator when the toys are about to burn in the fire. They were close to touching the fire, but they didn’t melt, despite being made of plastic. This is probably for the better though, as it would be disturbing to see the characters melt in fire.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheLandBeforeTime'' had a scene like this, right down to floating rock islands that could be jumped on by ''dinosaurs''.

* The climax of ''Disney/TheJungleBook2'' apparently takes place inside an old temple that's for some reason built inside a volcanic pit. Mowgli, Shanti, Ranjan, Baloo, and Bagheera actually lure Shere Khan inside the temple, where they attempt to distract the tiger by hitting gongs, but when that doesn't work, they simply throw Khan into a pool of lava. Khan survives the fall, thanks to a rocky ledge overhanging the lava, but is immediately trapped inside a giant stone tiger head that also fell inside the pool of lava. As soon as the heroes leave the volcanic temple, [[FridgeHorror the vultures arrive...]]

* In Disney's version of ''Disney/ThePrincessAndTheFrog'', we have a scene where Tiana and Naveen as frogs are sitting on the edge of a bathtub. The bathtub is sitting in a fire and being used to cook gumbo, which is boiling hot. But, hey, an inch away sitting on bare metal, what's the problem? [[AWizardDidIt Though this can perhaps be justified by the fact the bathtub also doubles as a magic cauldron.]]
* The destruction of the Cave of Wonders in ''Disney/{{Aladdin}}'', in which Aladdin isn't cooked alive while being pursued by a malevolent stream of magma and using Carpet to escape.

* In ''Disney/BrotherBear'', Koda and Kenai traverse a field of heat (supposed to be lava...) This is impressive for two reasons: Kenai gets continuously hit by jets of steam (a la Princess Bride and the Swamp) and the nearby areas are covered in snow.
* A rare inversion happens in ''Disney/{{Frozen}}''. At the end of "Do You Want To Build A Snowman?" Elsa is sitting against the door, and has flash-frozen it and the surrounding walls to the point where snow is raining from the ceiling. Anna, on the other side, should feel a noticeable difference in temperature, but doesn't.
* ''Disney/FrozenII'': Anna wields an ice sword created for her by Elsa. Thing is, [[https://i.redd.it/sgm9fpd85ho31.png she's holding it without any gloves]], which should make the sword incredibly difficult to hold. Then again, considering Anna has [[https://i0.wp.com/www.caps.media/201/3-frozenbr/full/frozen-disneyscreencaps.com-9888.jpg?strip=all literally frozen over completely]], combined with the fact it's a ''magical'' sword Elsa created just for Anna...