On Mon, 27 Mar 2017 17:05:44 -0500, Leon lcb11211@swbelldotnet
wrote:

On 3/27/2017 4:21 PM, J. Clarke wrote:
In article tPmdnTF0oeL090TFnZ2dnUU7-
, lcb11211@swbelldotnet
says...

On 3/27/2017 2:33 PM, Leon wrote:
On 3/27/2017 11:14 AM, Scott Lurndal wrote:
John McCoy writes:


The invisible flames is the biggest safety issue with alcohol
fuels, but counterbalancing that, alcohol won't explode like
gasoline, and you can put it out with water whereas gas needs
a foam or CO2 extinquisher.

As I understand it, liquid gasoline itself won't explode,
but the vapor can.



IIRC any thing that burns has to be a vapor first.

vapor/gas

So solid nitro powder wont' burn unless it is
fist evaporated?


I'm no chemist but that is how I understand it. Some how the dry
chemical will turn to a liquid then a gas before it will burn.
That is what we were taught in chemistry class.

Not necessarily true. First of all, sublimation makes a vapour
directly from a solid - no liquid pase required - and a solid that has
it's own oxygenator included can burn without becoming a vapour - it
does not need to aerosolize to mix with oxygen in order to burn. Most
"High Explosives" work that way. Magnesium and Sodium do not turn to a
vapour before burning either - nor does Lithium
Any highly reactive element can "burn" from the solid state.

And understand that the whole thing does not have to turn into a liquid,
only the portion next to the heat source so that it can evaporate and
provide fuel to the flame.

IIRC a candle was used to demonstrate the stages of the process.

Some elements/mistures change forms very quickly.