But life is too short to cower in the dark, afraid of a little molten metal. I knew that the antidote to my fear was science; I trusted the Leidenfrost effect to keep me safe. When my finger hits molten lead that's hot enough, moisture from my finger should be vaporized instantly, creating an insulating layer of steam that should protect me for a fraction of a second. (This is a mirror image of what happened when I put my hand in liquid nitrogen, where the heat from my hand was hot enough to instantly vaporize the nitrogen, similarly creating an insulating layer of gas.)