Super powers? Man runs his hand over molten metal without being burned

Everyone knows that in order not to have a "melted" hand, one thing we should not do is touch incandescent metals, right? So can you explain how the guy in the video below can slap a liquid metal waterfall three times without losing his hand in the process? Was it witchcraft? Any superpowers? Assembly? Was he Russian? See below:

According to Yasmin Tayag of Inverse, the video above was first released by the Live Leak folks and went viral after being posted on Reddit, a content sharing and discussion site circulating on the Internet. For if after watching the guy run his hand over the molten metal you thought it couldn't be true, know that, according to Yasmin, there is an explanation for the man (apparently) unharmed.

Physics explains

One explanation for the guy not losing his hand is a physics phenomenon called the Leidenfrost Effect. Although this is something with a complex face and complicated name, you have certainly seen this phenomenon happening before. Do you know when drops fall into a very hot pan and begin to slide over the surface before boiling? So this is such a phenomenon going into action!

Basically, the Leidenfrost Effect happens when a liquid comes into contact with a substance that is significantly warmer than its boiling point and forms an insulating vapor layer that prevents the liquid from evaporating. In the case of the pan, what happens is that instead of sliding over the surface, the drops slide over a layer of water vapor. Check it out below:

As for the video man, what seems to happen is that when he runs his hand over the molten metal, the skin's natural moisture evaporates immediately, forming an efficient vapor layer that prevents the incandescent material from touching directly and burning the fabric. As you have seen, the guy moves his hand super fast, and this is part of the trick - since the skin contains a limited amount of water and if it takes a while to take your hand off, tsss ...

The odd thing, as Yasmin pointed out, is that the guy slaps the molten metal three times without getting burned, when the logical thing would be that he could do it only once - and after wetting his hand well with water to make sure the protective layer of steam forms. One possibility is that he performs the movement so fast that there is no time for all the moisture in the skin to evaporate or for his hands to be wetter than normal. No matter what the secret, we advise you not to try it at home!