Nick Arnett wrote:
On 6/28/06, Warren Ockrassa <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
The max fuel load of a top-of-the-line 737 is 37,712 Kg, or around
90,000 pounds. Figure 8 pounds of water in a gallon and you've got
better than 10K gallons of fuel in a 737, give or take.
Oops. Fuel weighs less than water (a fact that is impressed upon one when
learning to fly). Part of every pre-flight inspection to drain a bit of
fluid from the lowest points on the tanks, to ensure that what comes out is
fuel, not water (typically from condensation in the airplane, the fuel
truck
or tanks). If you get water, you keep draining until you don't get any.
Jet-A weighs 6.5 to 7 lbs/gallon, nominally 6.76 lbs/gallon in the United
States and Europe.
Okay, not a foot. A decimeter, about four inches. But you get the idea.
That is a hell of a lot of explosive fluid, and the 737s that hit the
WTC towers were on long-distance flights, at the beginning of their
journeys, and damn near capacity in their tanks.
Explosive, you say? This is kerosene, not gasoline. Try this at home
(away
from flammable stuff). Put some kerosene in a glass (don't use styrofoam).
Light a match. Stick it in the kerosene. It will go out. Do not try this
with gasoline.
And yes, it's kerosene, not gasoline. Lower octane rating. But the
flashpoints of the two are close enough to one another (-40 C for
gasoline, 29 C for kerosene, which is a lot in human space but nothing
for chemistry) that any spark hot enough to light a cigarette would set
them off.
Baloney. Really. I've used a lot of kerosene to start fires (to burn
brush
at my parent's farm) and I can assure you that it is not so easy to ignite.
It is nowhere near as volatile as gasoline.
You do NOT use gasoline for firespinning. You use kerosene or white
gas. Much safer. Really. Leastways, the folks I hang with that
actually play with fire tell me so. If there's going to be a lot of
them gathering in one place, there's a discussion about who's bringing
how much fuel, etc., and it's usually kerosene.
Oh, and you can have a lot of fun by soaking a roll of toilet paper in
the stuff and using it as a soccer ball (NOT during a burn ban!). Or at
least attempting to, until it disintegrates completely.
Julia
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