Hot Drop: red hot ball vs styrofoam

Hot Drop is a free melting simulator that runs in your browser. Heat a steel ball to about 1000 degrees, drop it on a block of styrofoam, and watch it sink. The foam shrinks back from the heat, turns brown, chars to black, and gives off smoke. The ball cools as it melts its way down, so its glow changes from white to orange to dull red.

The game is a sandbox. There is no score and no timer. Drop as many hot objects as you like, drag them through the foam to carve channels, or throw them at the block. When the block is full of holes, start a new one.

How to play

• Click above or on the block to drop the selected object.
• Drag a hot object to carve through the foam. Release while you move to throw it.
• Heat slider: set the start temperature, from about 400 °C to about 1300 °C. Hotter objects melt faster and deeper.
• Blowtorch: hold the mouse button to melt the foam directly, or to heat an object again after it cools.
• Keys: 1–6 select a tool, R gives a new block, M turns the sound on or off.

Hot Drop works on phones and tablets. Tap to drop and drag with one finger.

The hot objects

Steel ball

The classic "red hot ball" experiment, and the best place to start. A smooth, round ball of hot steel.

Charcoal

Light and rough. Charcoal flickers, throws sparks, and keeps burning, so it stays hot longer than its size suggests.

Hex nut

A small, light piece of hot steel. Drag it through the foam to carve.

Tungsten cube

The heaviest object. It starts the hottest, glows almost white, and holds its heat the longest.

Lava rock

The largest object. A cracked, glowing rock that melts a wide hole.

Blowtorch

A flame that you control directly. Use it to melt shapes into the foam or to heat a cold object again.

FAQ

Is Hot Drop free?

Yes. It is free, has no ads, and needs no download or account.

Is the melting real physics?

It is a simplified simulation. Heat moves from each object into the foam around it, and the foam shrinks, chars, and burns away when it gets hot enough. The goal is to look and sound satisfying, not to be an exact lab model.

Why does a hot object melt styrofoam so fast?

Styrofoam is about 95% air. The thin plastic walls between the air cells soften at about 100 °C, so a 1000 degree object collapses them almost at once.

Can I try this with real styrofoam?

Do not try it. Burning polystyrene gives off toxic smoke, and red hot metal causes serious burns and fires. Hot Drop gives you the same view with no risk.