Dragster Explodes

[DanB7290]

Don't know if anyone's seen this, the Funny Car drag racing in the US, one of the cars exploded mid run
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fraDOqIfFF4
Pretty awesome slow mo camera too

[onesickpuppy]

[LordGrover]

Sheee-it!

[thechosenfamily]

Saw this on the ESPN NHRA coverage during the week scary stuff.

Nitrous\alcohol mixtures are certainly spectacular.

[slinky]

It's actually a relatively common thing, it isn't that dramatic in context..

[hornet]

Trying to find some decent footage of it, but none so far - anyone else remember the Mark Oswald explosion from the "And They Walked Away" video? Was simply atomic.

[Use Psychology]

nitrous oxide is a gas at room temp so you'd have a hard time finding something more volatile than it.

i think what you mean is that nitromethane/methanol is a more energy-dense fuel than air/nitrous oxide/petrol or methanol.

[Use Psychology]

nitromethane has actually a rather high autoignition temperature, and when it burns in engines it doesn't detonate, just burns. I don;t think hitting with a hammer is likely to do anything.

the word volatile relates to how low/high the boiling point of a substance is (i.e. how easy it is to evaporate). What you are talking about is perhaps best described as the stability of a compound. nitromethane does burn pretty exothermically (hence it's use in dragster fuel) but it is really not an unstable compound (hence it's use in fuel...).

[Crafty_]

I thought it was fairly stable until compressed and then all hell breaks loose.
I'll bow to Rat Finks knowledge though..

[Use Psychology]

i won't because I'm a chemist and I know what I am talking about. (about stability/volatility of nitromethane, not about drag racing).

[davepoth]

I'm not a chemist, and I've never hit dragster fuel with a hammer, but what I can say is that the definition of volatile is "something that evaporates readily at room temperature.

If something explodes when it is hit with a hammer it's likely to be unstable.

[Use Psychology]

nitromethane is not shock sensitive in any way (htting substances with a hammer is the typical way to test for this). But if you mix it with air and heat it up to it's flash point (which is not very low compared to lots of substances) then it will burn. What probably happened, using the hammer, was that you managed to compress a mixture of nitromethane/air enough to heat it up beyond the flash point, upon which it ignited (not exploded).

nitromethane is not explosive or unstable or anything like that, it just burns in a very exothermic way.

and rat fink, I didn't mean any disrespect and I wasn't calling you a liar, just incorrect I hope you can see the (well intentioned) difference.

[Use Psychology]

you said hitting some nitromethane (a puddle of it?) would blast a hammer into your face - unlikely I think since the nitromethane would not be confined as it is in a combustion chamber in an engine. I think if it did ignite (which I think would be rare) then it would just burn like a puddle of petrol. infact if we have any a work perhaps i'll film a video of me trying it (we definitely have a hammer).

and yes, rat fink, pedantic of me but i am slightly pedantic about chemistry - i hoped that what i wrote would be interesting for others and that I could share my fondness for chemistry, i didn't mean to antagonise anybody. sorry. please don't let me put you off general motorsport either, its normally a pretty good part of PH.

[Crafty_]

so try it then if you are so sure.

Not being funny, but rat fink has been there and done it, I'd take that over theoretical knowledge, chemist or not.

[El Guapo]

I fear that someone has confused nitromethane with nitroglycerine.
Hit a puddle of nitromethane with a hammer and you will get a wet hammer.

[anonymous-user]

Jesus i give up. It wasn't as literal as just smacking a puddle. Yes it only becomes a problem if it's under compression so you do need some way of containing it slightly. Why the hell would i have it confused with nitro glycerine?! This started because i happened to mention that funny cars run on a nitro and methanol mix, not nitrous. And it's turning in to some smart arse point scoring game, like i said earlier, I'll know not to stray in here in future.

[crockett]

Use Psychology - have you ever kissed a girl ?

Edited by crockett on Sunday 22 April 11:18

[37chevy]

Rat_Fink_67 said:

Jesus i give up. It wasn't as literal as just smacking a puddle. Yes it only becomes a problem if it's under compression so you do need some way of containing it slightly. Why the hell would i have it confused with nitro glycerine?! This started because i happened to mention that funny cars run on a nitro and methanol mix, not nitrous. And it's turning in to some smart arse point scoring game, like i said earlier, I'll know not to stray in here in future.

Lol I wouldn't worry about the uneducated amongst them.....god knows why they think you're confused! If anyone knows anything about drag racing on here its you lol!

[Use Psychology]

crockett said:

Use Psychology - have you ever kissed a girl ?

Edited by crockett on Sunday 22 April 11:18

are you offering or what?

[rigga]

I know nothing about the chemical properties of Nitro, methenol et al so wont comment .....

But find his reaction at the end funny,car body blows off and he gets out and throws down a descarded panel in a fit of pique