I’ve seen videos of people throwing firecrackers and dynamite and things like that into water and they still explode, but how do the fuses stay lit?
In: 128
For something to burn you need 2 things: fuel and an oxidizer. The 2nd one is called an oxidizer because it donates oxygen to the reaction. Straight O2 is the most common one used, but it doesn’t have to be exclusively O2. There are several other molecules that are really good oxidizers such as NO3, ClO3, and ClO4. Some oxidizers are solids. Water is NOT an oxidizer, it’s too stable to let go of its oxygen that easily.
The reason why water normally puts out a fire is that the fire is using atmospheric O2 as the oxidizer and the water stops the O2 from getting to the fuel so the reaction doesn’t get the oxidizer needed to continue burning.
In the case of fuses, they’re usually a combination of gunpowder, a solid oxidizer, and a flexible, waterproof casing. The waterproofing prevents water from washing anything away and the oxidizer is mixed with the gunpowder so it will always have access to the oxidizer.
Latest Answers