when fire uh?! *roar*

chriso20

chriso20

Newbie
Joined
Jul 16, 2004
Messages
686
Reaction score
0
caveman say: "uh fire ah... roar* fire uh ag spark spark wood hmmm... fire fire ! burrrn uh argh?"

I ask: how weapons cause fires? not including items from the world like barrels cuz i love the fire i just hope WE can pick when things are on fire not only when barrels are around.
 
Well, when a bullet that's going several hundred miles per hour, that is made of metal, and it hits other metal, there's a reaction known as a spark.
 
Audiophile said:
Well, when a bullet that's going several hundred miles per hour, that is made of metal, and it hits other metal, there's a reaction known as a spark.
Click to expand...


And another amazing physical force, friction.
 
in all actuallity there aren't many sparks made from guns shooting things. Trust me i completely tore apart a computer with an m1 carbine, a ruger p89 and a 22. none of them sparked at all.

Sparks are just things made in the movies.
 
aaaaaaaaaargh! no not a "sparks arent realistic" thread!

I meant, do we have any weapons that'l cause fires, eg. flamethrowers or the crossbow's bolts being electrified and when they stick in ppl they burn or what ever...

Any ideas?
 
Well you asked in the correct format by trying to mislead others... go you! =]
 
Bullets do cause sparks! I was watching James Bond and he was running along a wall and all the bullets behind him were sparking like mad!

Ps:Im joking!
 
Shat_kat said:
Well you asked in the correct format by trying to mislead others... go you! =]
Click to expand...
lmao!

n'off said:
n all actuallity there aren't many sparks made from guns shooting things. Trust me i completely tore apart a computer with an m1 carbine, a ruger p89 and a 22. none of them sparked at all.
Click to expand...
THat must have ruled.
 
It actually is true, a bullet wouldn't cause something to explode because it oesn't cause a spark, it's moving way to fast. But who cares? i just want to be able to shoot some barrels and have them explode all over some poor unsuspecting combine :) BURN, BURN!!! :)
 
Bullets can cause sparks.

A bullet leaves a rifle at about 120 m/s, and a pistol at about 60-80 m/s (ish). Bullets are metallic. If the surface a bullet hits is strong then the bullet striking it can cause sparks - not big ones mind, but sparks never the less. If one richochet's off concrete it can spark, from experience, and I'm assuming there would be more sparks from a strong metal surface.

So if a barrel full of explosive stuff was shot then it's highly probably it would go bang.

Test: Shoot a can of aerosol
(me and Half life 2.net probably does not endorse the shooting of aerosol cans)

Also sparks look cooler than no sparks
 
I'd like to be the first person to respond to his question, if it was somewhat confusing -

I think he asked "Will we be able to control what catches on fire when we shoot it?"

Well, to put it this way... if you shoot something with a flame thrower or flaming darts or whatever, you can assume it will catch fire.
 
Even if the bullet is not capable of causing sparks, surely the high temperature at the time they leave the barrel of the weapon is hot enough to cause combustion?
 
I would just like to add my personal experience. I shot a propane canister (one that you put in lanterns, cooking stoves, etc) with my 8mm Mauser and it didn't even make the canister explode even after we hosed the thing with gasoline and then shot it it still didn't explode. Just my 2 cents.

Dweez
 
DweezilX said:
I would just like to add my personal experience. I shot a propane canister (one that you put in lanterns, cooking stoves, etc) with my 8mm Mauser and it didn't even make the canister explode even after we hosed the thing with gasoline and then shot it it still didn't explode. Just my 2 cents.

Dweez
Click to expand...
hehe you are crazy...and lucky :rolleyes:
 
N'Off said:
in all actuallity there aren't many sparks made from guns shooting things. Trust me i completely tore apart a computer with an m1 carbine, a ruger p89 and a 22. none of them sparked at all.

Sparks are just things made in the movies.
Click to expand...

Movies dnt have sparks , that have big ray of lights lol

In R/L there is just a puff of smoke and the noise and occaisionally a bit of light, dang the misleading movies (Tango and Cash the movie is worst for this gun affect :D btw)
 
So there are cases which bullets can cause fire and/or explosions but they are realtively hard to come by.

For example, a great show on Discovery Channel in the States called Mythbusters had a fun show a few episodes back in which they used a variety of high powered rifles and a selection of pistols and tried to see if the movie myth of shooting a car's gas tank would cause any type of explosion.

The test was to shoot an old black car (old caddy I think) and its full gas tank. Several tests later, and many rounds unloaded on this poor car yielded zero results. The gas failed to combust from either friction, impact, sparking or simple temprature of a traveling bullet.

There are plenty of great slow motion videos online at a variety of fire ballistics websites that have all the information anybody can dream of concerning this kind of topic so plenty of resources out there for any of you that are interested :)

Sorry, I went a bit off topic there.
 
Fuel can not combust in liquid form, so of course shooting a petrol tank will not cause an explosion.
 
The gas expelled from the barrel when the cartidge ignites is pretty hot. It causes a flash when it hits oxygen, which is known as a muzzle flash. The more powerful the cartridge, and the less gas-compensation it has, will generally mean a bigger flash. Supressors and flash hiders minimize this effect.
 
Fuel cannot combust in liquid form? I'm sorry but that seems incorrect.
In reference to something like a combustion engine, this would be true as the fuel needs to be in a vapor form and mixed with oxygen to combust but in a general sense where normal gasoline is already exposed to outside air, it can combust from a strong heat source.

If you dump gas on the ground it remains in a liquid state. Introduce a source of heat to that gas and it will ignite from a liquid state. A strong heat source (such as a flame) causes a chemical reation to the liquid fuel which has a net result of burning the energy source.

EDIT: Also, here is a link which provides more insight into the little discussion here. I shouldn't say Iamaelephant is incorrect here because technically, oxygen is the other part of the equation that allows common fuel to burn in the first place but to say that fuel in a liquid state cannot burn, is not correct. It can, it just simply needs exposure to an oxidizing agent (oxygen is the most common.)

http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/chem03/chem03291.htm
 
VoodooMinigeek said:
Fuel cannot combust in liquid form? I'm sorry but that seems incorrect.
In reference to something like a combustion engine, this would be true as the fuel needs to be in a vapor form and mixed with oxygen to combust but in a general sense where normal gasoline is already exposed to outside air, it can combust from a strong heat source.

If you dump gas on the ground it remains in a liquid state. Introduce a source of heat to that gas and it will ignite from a liquid state. A strong heat source (such as a flame) causes a chemical reation to the liquid fuel which has a net result of burning the energy source.
Click to expand...

Am i right in saying if you put a match above a pool of fuel on the ground the vapour from it will ignite and heat the liquid fuel below which in turn turns into vapour until all of it has gone?
 
Actually when you pour petrol (it's not called gas, gas is a state of matter) on the ground and light it, you are lighting it's fumes, not the the petrol itself. Try doing it on a really cold day and you'll find it alot harder to light, due to there being less fumes.
 
Sorry, added my edit a little late. It helps give more input on this. In the states, Iamaelephant, many people here refer to gasoline or petrol as gas. Yes, this is wrong as the definition of gas is a state of matter but unfortunately, lazy grammar is rampant in the U.S.
 
Well technically you are right about petrol being combustable in it's liquid form, but in practise it's generally accepted that only the fumes of petrol will ignite. Try this for example - get an open container of petrol, light a match, and throw it directly into the petrol. The petrol will not ignite, because the match passed through the fumes quickly enough that they did won't ignite (do not try this on a hot day). It works, seriously. I still remember the first time my boss threw a lit cigarette into a container of petrol. I almost shat my pants.
 
i dont understand this thread is about?
 
iamaelephant said:
Well technically you are right about petrol being combustable in it's liquid form, but in practise it's generally accepted that only the fumes of petrol will ignite. Try this for example - get an open container of petrol, light a match, and throw it directly into the petrol. The petrol will not ignite, because the match passed through the fumes quickly enough that they did won't ignite (do not try this on a hot day). It works, seriously. I still remember the first time my boss threw a lit cigarette into a container of petrol. I almost shat my pants.
Click to expand...

I will concide your point here. I was being too technical and yes, the fumes are certainly the primary and easiest ignition point. I stand corrected :cheers:
 
Yah, i saw that mythbuster, and it proves that it is very unlikely that shotting a tank of gas will cause it to explode. And as for shooting concrete, i believe if you hit it on the right angle it will create a spark.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

B
The leaked maps of the Half-Life 2 episodes - Part 2
Replies
0
Views
8K
Barnz
B
Omnomnick
Examining The Files Of "SteamVR Performance Test" & "Aperture Robot Repair"
Replies
27
Views
91K
MFL
MFL
Sectorial
Half-Life 2 Canon (Theory)
Replies
6
Views
3K
1marcos6
1marcos6
ríomhaire
Why you should play the Game of Throes RPG (warning: long)
Replies
4
Views
2K
ríomhaire
ríomhaire
ríomhaire
Pyromania Round-up + more Mann vs Machine rumours
Replies
3
Views
8K
ríomhaire
ríomhaire
Back
Top