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Taiwan dust explosion injures 500 vs. Mythbusters Creamer Powder Explosion

6 pointsby stefap2almost 10 years ago
A dust explosion is the rapid combustion of fine particles suspended in the air. Dust explosions can occur where dispersed powdered combustible material is present in high enough concentrations in the atmosphere.<p>This is what happened this weekend in Taiwan: http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.cnn.com&#x2F;2015&#x2F;06&#x2F;28&#x2F;asia&#x2F;taiwan-water-park-explosion&#x2F;<p>For a comparison see what happens with a right mixture of otherwise benign creamer powder and air: https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=yRw4ZRqmxOc

2 comments

PaulHoulealmost 10 years ago
Dust explosions are like a fuel-air bomb in that the energy yield per pound is greatly improved by the use of oxidizer from the air.<p>They&#x27;ve gotten away with this so far because it is pretty hard to ignite that kind of powder. You&#x27;ve got to get a pretty good area (a foot cubic or so) of dust to the boiling point before a self-sustaining reaction is at all assured. A match won&#x27;t do it, and not static electricity (much safer than flash powder), think of a small campfire.
socceroosalmost 10 years ago
I feel for those caught up in it. But boy, oh boy, did it look like a scene from Hell!