Cannons come to mind . . . On Fri, Sep 1, 2017 at 9:38 AM, Dan--- via Mercedes <mercedes@okiebenz.com> wrote:
> Me, too. Lots of spelunking when I was in high school. Lots of cans of > carbide pellets, too. Plenty of fun things to do with them besides use in > our headlamps... > > -D > > > On Sep 1, 2017, at 9:27 AM, Rich Thomas via Mercedes < > mercedes@okiebenz.com> wrote: > > > > 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 > > > > > > > _______________________________________ > 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 > > -- OK Don *“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts.”* – Mark Twain "There are three kinds of men: The ones that learns by reading. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves." WILL ROGERS, *The Manly Wisdom of Will Rogers* 2013 F150, 18 mpg 2017 Subaru Legacy, 30 mpg 1957 C182A, 12 mpg - but at 150 mph! _______________________________________ 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
