The next step ..... explosions

[DesmondD]

This white spirits takes too long to ignite



There was a nice big fireball but even with a 1/40th exposure I only got the first bit of a small fireball coming out of the can .... then I had to throw it on the ground and roll it around to put the fire out !



I need something that ignites faster ...

.

[I @ M]

Saturday night - this is what my table looks like ....

Kinda resembles our kitchen bench most days of the week.

Anyone have any ideas ?

Man, you are the ideas person, we are just travelling on this train waiting for the inevitable derailment.

This white spirits takes too long to ignite

Methylated spirits, thinners, TNT, ?

Brilliant series mate

[Colinc1]

crazy ideas, but i suppose, you will come up with some amazing pics eventually.
Now,how about trying to capture eggs exploding in the microwave,

[DesmondD]

Methylated spirits, thinners, TNT, ?

I think you left out uranium !

[DesmondD]

crazy ideas, but i suppose, you will come up with some amazing pics eventually.
Now,how about trying to capture eggs exploding in the microwave,

or blow myself up in the process ..... I might have to get some petrol tomorrow - and see how quickly that ignites . I kind
a expected more from the white spirits

[DesmondD]

It rained almost the whole day today - then in the afternoon the clouds parted a bit which meant I would be able to try a few more 'tests' .
Petrol in a plastic bag isn't working properly - the gas doesn't ignite and if it is in the fluid the spark is 'drowned' . I think I may have to try LPG in future .









.

[DesmondD]

Today's video ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLqjD0LaPbs

[peterking]

I don't know if it will help but I remember having a talk with one of the tech reps from a petroleum company some years ago and him saying that to have an "Explosion" you need the correct temperature and vapour concentration. We were talking about explosions at petrol stations and he said the temp needed to be min 20c and the vapour concentration 200ppm (Parts Per Million). When we sat down and worked it out it meant a warm day and a lot of spilt fuel.

Your biggest concern needs to be ambient temp. If you can get it over 20c then I think you have a better chance of getting the result you want.

[DesmondD]

I don't know if it will help but I remember having a talk with one of the tech reps from a petroleum company some years ago and him saying that to have an "Explosion" you need the correct temperature and vapour concentration. We were talking about explosions at petrol stations and he said the temp needed to be min 20c and the vapour concentration 200ppm (Parts Per Million). When we sat down and worked it out it meant a warm day and a lot of spilt fuel.

Your biggest concern needs to be ambient temp. If you can get it over 20c then I think you have a better chance of getting the result you want.

Yep , that helps a lot .
Strangely I would have thought that with a flashpoint of -40 the bag should be full of gas but perhaps it is only a fine mist on the surface of the fluid which is why I had to have the spark so close to get ignition . So I either need to do it in summer or perhaps try LPG next time .

[DesmondD]

This afternoon we finally had some good weather on a weekend and I've been thinking of the concept of having the right gas mixture that will ignite properly .
So I dug out my hiking gas stove and lined up the 20000 volt "remote flash spark triggering module " in line with the piezo ignition unit on the stove , cranked up the gas and left it lying on its side in an old mail box .



Not very impressive and the gas takes a while to ignite

So I lay it on its side on the hapless wooden crate and placed a bag with some petrol on it ..... at 1/100th sec you can see the small fire-ball starting up



I held the shutter down with my D50 which only gets about 2 1/2 fps [ Didn't want to use the D90 - if I blow my face off I don't want to also lose a good camera ! ]



Then I thought "Hmmmm , that could make the gas cylinder explode " and I ran over and took it away .



Then the plastic bag started making black smoke and flames and I thought I heard the landlord's car coming down the road so I grabbed a plank and beat the flames to death with it ..... it was a false alarm so I decided to just upload what I got so far .






.

[Cage]

"Daddy, is that a UFO?"

"I don't think so son, it looks like a guy with singed eyebrows, hanging onto a camera".

Desmond, you add new meaning to 'The Big Bang Theory'

Good luck

Kevin

[DesmondD]

"Daddy, is that a UFO?"

"I don't think so son, it looks like a guy with singed eyebrows, hanging onto a camera".

Desmond, you add new meaning to 'The Big Bang Theory'

Good luck

Kevin

" is it a bird ? Is it a plane ? ....... or is Desmond doing experiments again !"

[DesmondD]

Made a little progress today ....

video

[I @ M]

I still reckon you have been sniffing too many aerosols mate.

The moment of ignition flame shots have come up well, the video adds a neat touch to the tutorial as well.

[DesmondD]

I still reckon you have been sniffing too many aerosols mate.

The moment of ignition flame shots have come up well, the video adds a neat touch to the tutorial as well.

I think I need to do this at night so the flames look better !


.

[Pat Redmond]

Hey Desmond, these are some of the greatest fire pics I've seen!!

You want something relatively safe to blow up, something that ignites easily, is cheap and simple to make and is legal?? You can make your own hydrogen. Put some "draino" (caustic soda) and water in a P.E.T. bottle. Shred some aluminium foil, and out it in the bottle too. Put a balloon over the top of the bottle, and watch as it fills with hydrogen.

The ratio of caustic soda to aluminium determines the speed of the reaction. The P.E.T. bottle will get pretty warm, but I've never melted one yet.

Not that blowing anything up is really SAFE, but I have done this heaps over the years, and never done more damage than losing the hair on my arm from being too close.

You should get some nice round-ish looking fireballs to! Post some pictures if you try!

Cheers,
Pat

[DesmondD]

Thanks for the tips - I may have to give it a try . I'm busy concocting a plan for a relay triggered by the flash for some more destructive pictures in good light .
It's daylight savings here in NZ and night takes so long to happen !

Hey Desmond, these are some of the greatest fire pics I've seen!!

You want something relatively safe to blow up, something that ignites easily, is cheap and simple to make and is legal?? You can make your own hydrogen. Put some "draino" (caustic soda) and water in a P.E.T. bottle. Shred some aluminium foil, and out it in the bottle too. Put a balloon over the top of the bottle, and watch as it fills with hydrogen.

The ratio of caustic soda to aluminium determines the speed of the reaction. The P.E.T. bottle will get pretty warm, but I've never melted one yet.

Not that blowing anything up is really SAFE, but I have done this heaps over the years, and never done more damage than losing the hair on my arm from being too close.

You should get some nice round-ish looking fireballs to! Post some pictures if you try!

Cheers,
Pat

[Duane Pipe]

Gday Pat I have also played with hydrogen, a 2 litre coke bottle full actually, and to me and my work mates it was like a bomb, the blast wave was incredible and the flying bottle set fire to our rag bag, lucky
the boss was away LOL.
We first started by igniting the hydrogen by running a small hose into our metal quenching bath
and igniting the bubbles as they popped... And they were like a large crackers.
So if you try this do be very careful . Cheers Dave