oxygen bottles blow up?

[tomh2004]

Why does oxygen bottles blow up when shot. Oxygen supports combustion, what in the bottle causes a flash and explosion?

 

[silicosys4]

Oxygen tanks are filled to over 2000 psi. The flash you see are probably sparks that are brighter because of o2. The explosion is releasing pressure. Don't shoot oxygen tanks. Its different than propane because of the pressure. The tanks can launch unpredictably at high speed in random directions and do lots of damage

 

[ghitch75]

seen a 1cft bottle go threw 2 block walls when the valve got knock off...

 

[TRX]

Oxygen doesn't blow up, but lots of normally "nonflammable" items will burn merrily in the presence of pure oxygen.

Look up "Apollo 1"...

 

[mljdeckard]

Even a full propane tank won't usually ignite when you shoot it (with a regular bullet.). It will still jet and/or explode.

 

[Steel Horse Rider]

Have you actually seen an "explosion"? I have shot a lot of different pressurized tanks due for disposal with various high velocity centerfire rounds and have yet to see one actually explode. A 30lb refrigerant tank with about 20PSI of vapor inside was the most reactive thing I have shot and refrigerant is inert. Propane tanks are the most boring things to shoot as they generally just become perforated with .30 caliber holes. Water filled gallon milk jugs have a much better response.

 

[Queen_of_Thunder]

Shooting pressurized containers is Darwinism in action. Its a kind of self cauterization of the gene pool.

 

[mljdeckard]

It will jet or explode, but there usually isn't flame. You wouldn't want to be standing in the path of whatever comes out of that hole or rupture.

 

[Ignition Override]

100% oxygen killed an Apollo crew training inside their sealed capsule, on the launchpad at Cape Kennedy in the 60s: Chafee, Gus Grissom, Ed White.
A spark from a switch seems to have initiated the flash fire.

The oxygen supply was then diluted with nitrogen.

 

[Brian Williams]

Shooting pressurized containers is best done only under extremely safety controlled situations. Thick walled cylinders like oxygen tend to cause richocet and thin walled ones tend to split or fly around. Oxygen helps stuff burn and most other flammable or explosive gases need some spark or ignition method other than a bullet zipping past/thru.
Please be careful