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Gas is indeed flammable, but only under specific circumstances. And citing hollywoodreporter.com? Thanks but I think I'll rely on more reputable sources: htt

Gas is indeed flammable, but only under specific circumstances. And citing hollywoodreporter.com? Thanks but I think I'll rely on more reputable sources: http://dsc.discovery.com/tv-shows/mythbusters/videos/crash-and-burn.htm http://dsc.discovery.com/tv-shows/mythbusters/videos/crash-a...

tptacek 13y ago
That's not original reporting from THR, it's an aggregation of other stories, written by THR. Here, maybe you'll trust NFPA instead: http://www.nfpa.org/itemDetail.asp?categoryID=953&itemID=29658 http://www.nfpa.org/itemDetail.asp?categoryID=953&itemID=296...
- wavefunction 13y ago
  I'll just say that you, Steko and jlgreco seem pretty invested in presenting the same case, ad nauseum. With that, I have some projects to head off to work on. Cheers
  - jlgreco 13y ago
    Curiously, if you read our histories you will see that tptacek and I could not possibly disagree more on most of the other aspects of this continuum of stories. But hey, if I were a government shill in Virginia I wouldn't want to make it too obvious right? Gotta keep it mixed up a bit.
    - wavefunction 13y ago
      Who said you were a government shill? dun dun dun...
      - jlgreco 13y ago
        Oh crimey, I've been had!
jlgreco 13y ago
A 1.75 ton car wrapping itself around a tree at 80+ mph is an exceedingly chaotic situation. It really should not be surprising that some of the times that happens a fire will occur.
- trevelyan 13y ago
  Did it wrap itself around the tree? I honestly can't tell from the video.
Steko 13y ago
" only under specific circumstances." Major crashes are one of those circumstances. I can't even believe this is being contested, it's like something out of Zoolander... Michael Hastings framed in freak gasoline fight accident https://www.google.com/search?q=car+explodes&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=cpXFUYm7GaqmiQKNsYCQDA&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1920&bih=964 https://www.google.com/search?q=car+explodes&source=lnms&tbm... Yes cars really catch on fire.
numbsafari 13y ago
Here's a real live video of a car running into a toll booth and exploding: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x22gip_video_auto http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x22gip_video_auto It's a far more reliable source than an artificial experiment conducted for a TV show that desperately wants to convince how smart it is.
mpyne 13y ago
The whole point to gas is the wide set of "specific circumstances" in which it is flammable. It is most flammable in its gaseous form so any fuel tank leak at all during the accident could have spilled gas all around the car which (due to its volatility) would quickly flash into a vapor form. At that point it needs only to find 1 hot-enough part of the car to ignite and spread throughout the vapor cloud to start burning all around the car.
fnordfnordfnord 13y ago
Mythbusters is not science, and gasoline is quite easy to ignite. The catalytic converter could have done it, so could an electrical short (possibly caused by the crash).

tptacek 13y ago

That's not original reporting from THR, it's an aggregation of other stories, written by THR. Here, maybe you'll trust NFPA instead: http://www.nfpa.org/itemDetail.asp?categoryID=953&itemID=29658 http://www.nfpa.org/itemDetail.asp?categoryID=953&itemID=296...

wavefunction 13y ago
I'll just say that you, Steko and jlgreco seem pretty invested in presenting the same case, ad nauseum. With that, I have some projects to head off to work on. Cheers
- jlgreco 13y ago
  Curiously, if you read our histories you will see that tptacek and I could not possibly disagree more on most of the other aspects of this continuum of stories. But hey, if I were a government shill in Virginia I wouldn't want to make it too obvious right? Gotta keep it mixed up a bit.
  - wavefunction 13y ago
    Who said you were a government shill? dun dun dun...
    - jlgreco 13y ago
      Oh crimey, I've been had!

jlgreco 13y ago

A 1.75 ton car wrapping itself around a tree at 80+ mph is an exceedingly chaotic situation. It really should not be surprising that some of the times that happens a fire will occur.

trevelyan 13y ago
Did it wrap itself around the tree? I honestly can't tell from the video.

Steko 13y ago

" only under specific circumstances." Major crashes are one of those circumstances. I can't even believe this is being contested, it's like something out of Zoolander... Michael Hastings framed in freak gasoline fight accident https://www.google.com/search?q=car+explodes&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=cpXFUYm7GaqmiQKNsYCQDA&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1920&bih=964 https://www.google.com/search?q=car+explodes&source=lnms&tbm... Yes cars really catch on fire.

numbsafari 13y ago

Here's a real live video of a car running into a toll booth and exploding: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x22gip_video_auto http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x22gip_video_auto It's a far more reliable source than an artificial experiment conducted for a TV show that desperately wants to convince how smart it is.

mpyne 13y ago

The whole point to gas is the wide set of "specific circumstances" in which it is flammable. It is most flammable in its gaseous form so any fuel tank leak at all during the accident could have spilled gas all around the car which (due to its volatility) would quickly flash into a vapor form. At that point it needs only to find 1 hot-enough part of the car to ignite and spread throughout the vapor cloud to start burning all around the car.

fnordfnordfnord 13y ago

Mythbusters is not science, and gasoline is quite easy to ignite. The catalytic converter could have done it, so could an electrical short (possibly caused by the crash).