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The runway melts at 40C? Call me skeptical.

woodruffw 4y ago
Melted presumably doesn't mean "liquified," it means "the heat was sufficient to push the integrity of the runway beyond its safe operating parameters." And it probably wasn't just 40C; it was probably much hotter, since it's black tarmac.
masklinn 4y ago
It’s quite believable that the tarmac wouldn’t have been specced for 40C in England. Especially when the airport opened in 1938.
alias_neo 4y ago
"Tarmac", the stuff we coat roads on here gets very soft in the summer. When I was a child (90s), my dad lost a finger when we were replacing the alloys on his VW Corrado and the jack sank into the tarmac and collapsed dropping the car, he pulled his arm out just quick enough to _only_ lose a finger. I'll never forget how dismissive my mum was when I said "mum, come quick, dad's cut his finger off, it's on the floor". Fun story aside, the tarmac / road covering we use here do "melt" at relatively low temperatures.
- madengr 4y ago
- EGreg 4y ago
  Did they reattach the finger? Does he still have feeling in it and can move it?
  - bregma 4y ago
    Is it still embedded i the tarmac?
  - alias_neo 4y ago
    It was crushed and not a clean cut so they couldn't reattach it.
smcl 4y ago
It's worded that way for shock value: 1) 40C is the air temperature, the surface temperature of something exposed to the sun is much higher 2) It's not like it's a big hilarious, swirling sea of tarmac. Part of the runway will be a bit softer than they deem safe. The UK heatwave is still extraordinary, but you need to take tabloid headlines with a generous pinch of salt.
- SideburnsOfDoom 4y ago
  3 ) there are parts of the world where runways built decades ago were built with 40C (expected air temperature) in mind. Luton, UK is not one of them.
  - smcl 4y ago
    Also true!
foibleberry 4y ago
It is more likely the black tarmac used to fill in cracks in said runways, and I’m almost certain you’ve stepped in that on a hot day at some point in your life and know that it gets soft. No reason to be skeptical based on a hot headline take.
dragonwriter 4y ago
> The runway melts at 40C? No, the runway melts at a much higher temperature, but as it turns out pavement gets much hotter than air temperature on hot days; various sites I can find siting a very rough guide as 35°C air temperature to 65°C pavement temperature.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
nomel 4y ago
You appear to be correct: > The RAF didn’t specify why it suspended flights, but a spokesperson said “the runway has not melted” as early media reports indicated. https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/18/london-flights-suspended-after-runway-damaged-during-heat-wave.html https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/18/london-flights-suspended-aft...

Melted presumably doesn't mean "liquified," it means "the heat was sufficient to push the integrity of the runway beyond its safe operating parameters." And it probably wasn't just 40C; it was probably much hotter, since it's black tarmac.

masklinn 4y ago

It’s quite believable that the tarmac wouldn’t have been specced for 40C in England. Especially when the airport opened in 1938.

alias_neo 4y ago

"Tarmac", the stuff we coat roads on here gets very soft in the summer. When I was a child (90s), my dad lost a finger when we were replacing the alloys on his VW Corrado and the jack sank into the tarmac and collapsed dropping the car, he pulled his arm out just quick enough to _only_ lose a finger. I'll never forget how dismissive my mum was when I said "mum, come quick, dad's cut his finger off, it's on the floor". Fun story aside, the tarmac / road covering we use here do "melt" at relatively low temperatures.

madengr 4y ago
EGreg 4y ago
Did they reattach the finger? Does he still have feeling in it and can move it?
- bregma 4y ago
  Is it still embedded i the tarmac?
- alias_neo 4y ago
  It was crushed and not a clean cut so they couldn't reattach it.

smcl 4y ago

It's worded that way for shock value: 1) 40C is the air temperature, the surface temperature of something exposed to the sun is much higher 2) It's not like it's a big hilarious, swirling sea of tarmac. Part of the runway will be a bit softer than they deem safe. The UK heatwave is still extraordinary, but you need to take tabloid headlines with a generous pinch of salt.

SideburnsOfDoom 4y ago
3 ) there are parts of the world where runways built decades ago were built with 40C (expected air temperature) in mind. Luton, UK is not one of them.
- smcl 4y ago
  Also true!

foibleberry 4y ago

It is more likely the black tarmac used to fill in cracks in said runways, and I’m almost certain you’ve stepped in that on a hot day at some point in your life and know that it gets soft. No reason to be skeptical based on a hot headline take.

dragonwriter 4y ago

> The runway melts at 40C? No, the runway melts at a much higher temperature, but as it turns out pavement gets much hotter than air temperature on hot days; various sites I can find siting a very rough guide as 35°C air temperature to 65°C pavement temperature.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

nomel 4y ago

You appear to be correct: > The RAF didn’t specify why it suspended flights, but a spokesperson said “the runway has not melted” as early media reports indicated. https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/18/london-flights-suspended-after-runway-damaged-during-heat-wave.html https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/18/london-flights-suspended-aft...