Pete C. wrote:
Rich Grise wrote:
rangerssuck wrote:
On Jan 12, 6:34 pm, Rich Grise wrote:

I _do_ know that 2250 PSI (150 atmospheres) is a very formidable
force.

Didn't you ever see "Jaws"? The shark finds out how much energy is
stored in a scuba tank.

Oh, poof. That was camera tricks. ;-)

A tank that can hold 2250 PSI would probably laugh at a mere bullet,
except for maybe an armor-piercing round. But I'm guessing.

I wonder if anybody's got a definitive answer to that one? Anyone ever
actually shot a full scuba tank or other high-pressure gas cylinder?

Mythbusters did. They found the obvious, that a bullet hole makes a nice
jet nozzle, but it doesn't cause a catastrophic cylinder failure.

Catastrophic cylinder failure comes from sustained load stress cracking
in the aluminum, primarily seen in an older alloy no longer used for the
cylinders. Those failures rip sections out of the cylinder and send them
flying through anything in their way.

Ach! I'd forgotten all about aluminum tanks! All of this thread, I've been
thinking only steel. Did mythbusters do a steel one? Wouldn't an ordinary
bullet just splatter? Armor-piercing, however, is another story, and that's
the one I'm curious about - an armor-piercing bullet into a steel tank.

Once, when I was in the service, I was on a detail with a couple other
guys rearranging some storage garage. There was some kind of cylinder up
against the wall; one of the guys found a sledge hammer and took a swing
at the tank. I almost had a heart attack; I _shrieked_ "NO!!!!!!" and
ducked behind some box - I didn't know I could move that fast.

He didn't shatter the tank (Thank Gawd!), but how stupid can some people
be?

Pretty stupid. The service gets some good people, but they also get a
good number of duds who don't have any better life / job opportunities.

Yeah, they "can't make it on the outside," much like government
bureaucrats. ;-D

Possibly interestingly, these two weenies were avionics guys, who are
supposed to be the smart ones!

Cheers!
Rich