3 ms·
Then the multiple times I've seen that done, by multiple different people, all happened with something other than gasoline. I'm not saying it can't happen, and
by rosser 14y ago
Then the multiple times I've seen that done, by multiple different people, all happened with something other than gasoline.
I'm not saying it can't happen, and I'm well aware that gasoline vapors are extremely dangerous. I'm just saying that the gas tank in your car isn't "10 times as easy to light up" as the newer, super-energy-dense lithium chemistry based batteries.
- kragen 14y agoDiesel fuel and kerosene are good candidates for the "something other than gasoline". They'll both happily put out a lit match.
- kragen 14y agoMay I suggest, by the way, that you think twice and double-check your facts before posting potentially fatal fire-safety advice on the internet? You'll probably never know if you've killed somebody. If you want to try the gasoline-bucket experiment, I recommend doing it in a small coffee can on a large concrete pad that you don't mind discoloring.
- rosser 14y agoI think the critical difference is how long the bucket full of gasoline has been sitting there. If you just filled it up, there will be a lot of vapors hovering above the surface. If it's been sitting, undisturbed and uncovered, for a good long while, there won't. In the former case, you're going to lose your eyebrows, at best. In the latter, the match will go out.
- kragen 14y agoGasoline vapors are several times heavier than air, so they tend to stay in buckets, crawl across basement floors, and so on. Maybe if you let the bucket sit there long enough, they'll displace enough oxygen that you won't get a fire at the surface. Another crucial variable is the temperature. If you do the experiment with the bucket sitting in a snowdrift, you probably can get it to snuff out a match, regardless of how long it's been sitting there.