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- Xref: sparky sci.electronics:22412 sci.energy:6780 rec.autos:31469
- Newsgroups: sci.electronics,sci.energy,rec.autos
- Path: sparky!uunet!gatech!kd4nc!ke4zv!gary
- From: gary@ke4zv.uucp (Gary Coffman)
- Subject: Re: Flywheel batteries as EV power source
- Message-ID: <1993Jan11.163152.542@ke4zv.uucp>
- Reply-To: gary@ke4zv.UUCP (Gary Coffman)
- Organization: Destructive Testing Systems
- References: <drury-070193073338@esrfd.es.dupont.com> <1993Jan8.010401.6096@cis.ohio-state.edu> <1993Jan9.183414.19078@ke4zv.uucp> <1993Jan11.041045.13640@cis.ohio-state.edu>
- Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1993 16:31:52 GMT
- Lines: 39
-
- In article <1993Jan11.041045.13640@cis.ohio-state.edu> rubin@skiing.cis.ohio-state.edu (Daniel Rubin) writes:
- >
- >You are totally wrong! Black powder is NOT a primary explosive. It will
- >NOT "detonate" if burned in the open. It will not "detonate" if it is placed
- >in a conceal container such as a bullet casing and ignited. All BP does is
- >deflagrate and produce a large quantity of gasses. Do you understand the
- >difference between detonation and deflagration? The only way to possiblly
- >get black powder to detonate is with a very powderfull detonation to start
- >the process. It is extremly difficult and blasting caps will not do it. You
- >may be thinking of nitrocellulose or "gun powder" it can be made to detonate,
- >but again that is extremely difficult. A substance is said to detonate if
- >the rate of probagation of the burning front through the substance is faster
- >the the speed of sound. A substance is said to deflagrate when it burn
- >slower than the speed of sound and does not produce a large shock wave which
- >is the result of detonation.
-
- Consult the Hazmat database, or the DOT classification schedule. Black
- powder is most definitely classed as an explosive while nitrocellulose
- propellant powder is classed as a flamable solid. You can ship smokeless
- gunpowder UPS, but black powder must be transported by special hazardous
- materials carriers licensed to transport explosives. There is only one
- black powder plant in the US. It is completely remotely operated because
- of the extreme explosion hazard offered by black powder. That's the Hogdon
- Powder Works. In the 19th century, black powder mills were notorious for
- exploding from static electricity or other trivial ignition sources. There
- were only two mining explosives, blasting powder (aka black powder) and
- nitroglycerin in the 19th century. Both were considered extremely dangerous
- to handle. Nobel made his fortune by inventing a safer explosive, dynamite.
-
- Just why do you think the barrels of modern black powder rifles are two to
- three times as thick walled as those of modern high power smokeless propellant
- rifles? It isn't because of a difference in metallurgy.
-
- Gary
- --
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