Boom!

MrB (Simon) · #1 10-06-2009, 09:01 PM

Or.... what happens when the chemical plant that makes fuel for the space shuttle has a fire?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KuGizBjDXo&feature=fvw

Jen · #2 10-06-2009, 09:10 PM

leon · #3 10-06-2009, 09:15 PM

Bloody hell, that was like a nuclear blast.

Leon

h0ughy (David) · #4 10-06-2009, 09:18 PM

wonder what started it in the first place - how do you put out something meant to burn in space?

Omaroo (Chris Malikoff) · #5 10-06-2009, 09:27 PM

BIG boom...

TrevorW · #6 10-06-2009, 09:49 PM

Teach them for storing all there eggs in one basket very fortunate or not that only 2 people were killed

'No Smoking"

BerrieK · #7 10-06-2009, 09:56 PM

Big Bang?!?!

Houghy do they use dibromodifluoromethane?

Kerrie

MrB (Simon) · #8 10-06-2009, 10:21 PM

Big bada boom

Sure glad it weren't me driving along that freeway...
How long do you reckon before your ears stopped ringing and your nerves settled?

iceman (Mike) · #9 11-06-2009, 05:08 AM

Wow, that's some explosion.

Baddad (Marty) · #10 11-06-2009, 08:36 AM

Hi All,

Quite an explosion. Yes.

I find it rather irresponsible of the authorities. The damage may have been minimized by storing explosive fuels in a cratered warehouse.

That way, in the event of a fire/explosion, the shock wave is focused upward. Also the quantity being in divided storage into several craters would have prevented it all going up.

Teach them for storing all there eggs in one basket ( TrevorW )

Sheer stupidity and a lack of forethought cost 100 million bucks. What price on two human lives?

I've seen cratering storage in South Australia years ago for ammunition. Have they done away with these smart ideas?

Cheers Marty

Robert9 (Robert) · #11 11-06-2009, 09:54 AM

Crazy.
I used to work in explosives research at the Nobel factory, west of Melbourne. All processing units never contained more than a ton of explosive at any one time and each unit was surrounded by a very solid earthen wall designed to direct any explosive shock-wave upward. Now that was back in the fifties. We knew about explosive safety then - what has happened since?

bloodhound31 · #12 11-06-2009, 10:17 AM

I love how hydrogen is explosive and burns, oxygen is explosive and burns, yet what do we do when we have a fire?.......throw water (H20) on it.....

Baz.

AstralTraveller (David) · #13 11-06-2009, 11:24 AM

What ever that fuel was it certainly seems to work. I reckon that bang put a few things into space!

Baddad (Marty) · #14 11-06-2009, 02:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bloodhound31

I love how hydrogen is explosive and burns, oxygen is explosive and burns, yet what do we do when we have a fire?.......throw water (H20) on it.....

Baz.

Hi Baz,

Oxygen does not burn. It combines with whatever is burning, like hydrogen, carbon or iron. That is to be correct in chemistry terms.
We also use burnt carbon (CO2) to extinguish fires. Carbon is the main ingredient in gunpowder.

Cheers Marty

Ric · #15 11-06-2009, 04:05 PM

That was the "Earth Shattering Kaboom" as Marvin the Martian would say.

That shockwave was awesome to watch.

marki · #16 11-06-2009, 07:40 PM

I would very much doubt that the fuel was liquid hydrogen and oxygen simply due to the colour of the smoke. It must have been solid fuel for the boosters also indicated by the 700 odd degrees needed to make it combust. Very little energy is needed to get hydrogen burning in oxygen.
I imagine it would be APCP (ammonium perchlorate composite propellent) or something similar which uses several binding agents which could account for the yellow smoke.

Mark

MrB (Simon) · #17 11-06-2009, 10:51 PM

I have two more video's on an old PC(I downloaded them years ago) of a fireworks factory that went up in smoke.... in the heart of a city.
Wiped out many blocks.
Will see if I can find them out in the interweb somewhere.

MrB (Simon) · #18 11-06-2009, 11:13 PM

Well, that was hard!

Enschede(Netherlands) Fireworks Disaster: (watch in order)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifm9BKf5ZbE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ks5X0N8M_o8

Theres another one I have but can't find it out there.

BerrieK · #19 11-06-2009, 11:26 PM

In December 2007 a pyrotechnics factory at Wallerawang (between Bathurst and Lithgow in NSW) which is about an hours drive from my place exploded...not as impressive as the fuel factoy inferno, but here's a link to a bit of footage (there's an itty bit of swearing.. warning for those who may be offended) but it was a real cracker!!

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegrap...007132,00.html

Kerrie

BerrieK · #20 11-06-2009, 11:30 PM

Simon I bet the cameraman from the Netherlands explosion had to change his / her undies when they were finished filming!!