Comments Posted By Just Got Back
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STOP OVERREACTING TO TERRORISTS?
Had it done so, that blast then would have ignited six to eight tanks of propane in a mist to make a fuel-air explosion, creating a fireball the size of a small house and propelling 18 to 20 boxes of roofing nails around a large area at bullet speed, counterterrorism officials said.
Well, thing is, when ignited, gasoline and compressed gas don't have the ability to actually propel material that far or with great force. It really doesn't, unless it is channeled through something to do so.
The primary action of a gas explosion is to burn fuel, and it doesn't create a tremendous amount of propulsion on land or air unless it is tightly controlled as in a rocket booster.
Increasing the amount of compressed gas canisters or the amount of liquid gas won't increase the force of the propellant amount either. It will increase the burn, but not the force of the wave blast. Those nails would likely simply be cooked by the explosion of the fuel burning, not propelled, because there is not enough force from that type of explosion to do so. It's basic science guys.
My understanding was that the nails were scattered in the back seat of the car, away from the gas. The compressed gas cannisters would split open with a loud bang, but not be propelled in any direction when doing so, since the amount of gas inside isn't enough to propel, nor is it being channeled properly, and of course, the ignition that caused the explosion is burning the gas too fast to allow for any propelling force. For the gas in the cannisters to actually expand "in a mist" would require that this be done BEFORE the gas is ignited, (since it burns too fast to expand as it is burning) and it's hard to see how that would be done inside the trunk of the car. Maybe the "smoke" that was seen was just that. But, even so, the mist would simply burn in a fireball, not expand outward and explode or have the ability to actually create a powerful enough blast wave with force enough to propell shrapnel or nails.
That's why gas is so popular a fuel -it's relatively stable, it doesn't explode when in an open container, and it burns really fast allowing for fairly even dispersion of the energy and it also is perfect for compression to increase power and control ignition, as in cannisters and the gas powered engine.
The truth here is that the terrorists are learning. As with the 1993 attack on the WTC, failure is part of the learning curve.
That said, it is entirely possible that if these bombs went off, that many people would have been burnt badly. They would have to be within vicinity of the car, at least within 50 feet. Anyone inside the club would have been fine, although the gas fire could feasably ignite the building on fire.But, shrapnel would have been non-existent with a bomb of this type. Simply not enough wave force is created by burning gas to create that type of result. It certainly had no chance of actually ripping the building apart in any way.
The chemical reaction in this "bomb" is all about burning the fuel, and gas burns too fast and too low without a powerful enough initial explosion to do the damage hoped for, whereas in an explosion from high yield chemicals, the reaction is powerful enough and hot enough to rip metal and propel objects.
When a compressed gas tank is ignited, it rips open with a gigantic bang, but it doesn't rip the tank to shreds or propel it anywhere. It might jump a bit in the air from the initial ignition, but it won't shoot around or anything. And, gasoline doesn't "explode" like you see in the movies. A large container of gasoline in an enclosed space will likely burn the fumes first, which will cause the fireball to extend where the fumes are... again, if inside a car trunk, the fumes are contained. Once the gasoline ignites, it would fireball a bit concurrently.
The fireball with that much gas could indeed be as big as a house, but it would last for less than a few seconds. Five at most. It would burn fast since there is no element of extending the fuel outward. Meaning, the fireball is the initial ignition expanding and burning outward looking for oxygen, but once the fuel is burnt, it's done. And, gas burns really really fast.
Didn't you guys ever blow up stuff as kids?
Comment Posted By Just Got Back On 30.06.2007 @ 18:29
Dale, Can you provide a link to that pre-9/11 Johnson statement?
Comment Posted By Just Got Back On 30.06.2007 @ 17:51
