ok guys help me settel a bet
 

ok me and a friend were arguing about gas. I say if u light a match and throw it in a barrel of gas it will blow up he says it will just burn and i cant convice him im right and i need some prof so if you guys would leave a post or to staiting ur opioin thanks

RE: ok guys help me settel a bet
 

Okay just for clarification, if it is compressed gas as in natural gas it will explode. If it is gasoline, then it depends if it an empty or full container.

If is an empty container it will blow, because the gasoline has vaporized and mixed with air to explode like in a combustion chamber.

That is what a fuel injector or carburetor does is put in proper portions the air/gasoline ratio so it will explode for maximum combustion (explosion).

If the barrel is full of gasoline, then the top will just burn.

Bottom line: Ya gotta have air mixed with it to explode.

RE: ok guys help me settel a bet
 

Yes you need oxygen to make it explode. That is how my father almost got both of us killed one time. Don't test it out.

RE: ok guys help me settel a bet
 

This is Bootcamp's post:

"Gas doesn't burn - the vapors do. When you throw a lit match into an open barrel of gas, the initial "blow up" is the "flash", or ignition of the concentrated gas vapors hovering over the liquid, and the subsequent expansion from the heat - all at once. However, gas - like any combustible - only "explodes" when under pressure. After lighting the gas and the initial "flash", the liquid in the barrel continues to evaporate (emit gas vapors) and feed the fire/reaction above the liquid until the gas has all evaporated/burned off.
Gunpowder is similar, but in granular form instead of liquid. If it's left in the open and ignited, it will initially "flash" and then burn until it's been expended. When you contain it or put it under pressure and ignite it, it will explode.
The initial "flash" from combustibles being ignited - while violent - isn't an explosion. It's an expansion from the heat created by the ignition, and continues until the fuel supply is exhausted.
An explosion is the rapid and violent ignition of an entire fuel source all at once - due to pressure - whether introduced before ignition, or as a result of the restricted expansion of the fuel by an enclosed container.

Hope that helps. "

RE: ok guys help me settel a bet
 

You guys know more than me about this, all I know is never use gasoline to start a BBQ it is sure to burn your mustache (and a whole lot more) when you drop a match on it.

RE: ok guys help me settel a bet
 

Experimentation works the best! :D;)

RE: ok guys help me settel a bet
 

You guys really need a hobby. [sm=icon_flaming.gif]

RE: ok guys help me settel a bet
 

It also isn't a good to pour gas down a Carburetor while someone is trying to start a stubborn engine.[sm=badidea.gif] Boom![sm=badbadbad.gif]

RE: ok guys help me settel a bet
 

Bootcamp's right, if you leave gas out in the open for a long time (dont know how long, but obivously until they are no more vapors) you can throw matches and stuff in it and nothing will happen. I read it in a book, but i would not try it.

RE: ok guys help me settel a bet
 

As the old saying goes "Play with matches, you'll get burned." In this case, mess with gasoline, you could be blown up.