• Question: if you mix fuel and fire why do they make an explosion????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

    Asked by JOHN CENA IS LOST RKO 619 to Hannah, Joanna, Joe, Luis, Vincent on 16 Jun 2016.
    • Photo: Luis Perez Calderon

      Luis Perez Calderon answered on 16 Jun 2016:

      An explosion happens when a chemical is exposed to sufficient energy (heat or shock for example) it will brake apart or transform very quickly. In a combustion engine for example, fuel is ignited with a spark (energy) and a lot of energy is released and the fuel brakes apart.

    • Photo: Hannah Grist

      Hannah Grist answered on 16 Jun 2016:

      When I read this question, I was thinking about cars or planes exploding, like in action films. Is that what you were thinking of?!

      Most often, if you mix a fuel like petrol and fire, it won’t actually explode. If you had a bucket of petrol (don’t try this at home!) and put a match to it, it would burn really quickly because it is flammable (that means catches fire easily), but it wouldn’t explode in a big ball of flame.

      In order to explode, you have to add pressure. So for example, if you had petrol inside a tank, you would need to set it on fire without letting it escape. It would then burn and give off lots of gas, getting hotter and hotter. It is only when it gets so hot and full that the tank breaks that you would get an explosion with everything piling out at onc (definitely don’t try that at home!)

    • Photo: Joe Nunez-Mino

      Joe Nunez-Mino answered on 21 Jun 2016:

      An explosion is basically a release of lots of energy. At its most basic form its like releasing the energy in a stretched rubber band after you release it. The amount of stretching you need to release an explosion varies from one material to another

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