Not that I would have any direct knowledge of any such things... but I
will admit to having used carbide lamps while caving (before LED lamps!)
--R
On 9/1/17 6:18 AM, archer75--- via Mercedes wrote:
Won't it also self ignite if you just let it out of the bottle too
Curt
Acetylene is _hugely_ explosive. One spark, even by a kicked rock,
and you've made a trench across the road. Not Recommended.
-- Jim
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Subjects like this don't have a simple answer; in this case, what happens
depends greatly on the conditions. Different metals and even different surface
conditions of the same metals can have different catalytic properties and of course
the temperature, the presence of other gases (especially oxygen) and the size of the
cavity holding the gas will all have an effect.
Acetylene (C2H2) doesn't need to react with anything else; it has a high energy
triple bond between the carbons and when conditions are 'wrong', the molecule
comes apart, mostly liberating free carbon, hydrogen gas and lots of heat which
causes an explosive increase in the pressure.
When oxygen is present, it can be even worse. Consider the fact that when your torch
tip overheats and pops, the volume of gas is very small and also well contained yet
the noise is very loud."
http://weldingweb.com/archive/index.php/t-23483.html
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
80 years ago we kids would play with "carbide" (calcium carbide) which generated acetylene when
exposed to water. We wanted an acetylene "cannon" like the rich kids had but satisfied ourselves
with dangerous home made "water pipe" cannons which were just as loud as the store-bought kind.
One of the neighborhood boys put carbide and water in a tin can, punched a
small hole near the bottom so he could ignite the gas, put a bigger tin can
over it, and lit off the acetylene. He spent that night in the hospital since
the flash burnt off his eyebrows, cowlick, and gave him an instant sunburn; but
left him okay otherwise. We never did figure out where the top can went.
After that our parents banned carbide which made the neighborhood dogs happy
since the unexpected loud bangs terrified them worse than the Fourth of July.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big-Bang_Cannon
---
This email has been checked for viruses by AVG.
http://www.avg.com
_______________________________________
http://www.okiebenz.com
To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/
To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to:
http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
_______________________________________
http://www.okiebenz.com
To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/
To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to:
http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
