Like title says, what properties of these make them so different in flammability? Just watched a video where a little gas added to fire quickly makes it seem to explode, but something like diesel just burns. I also think of the explosion in Lebanon, it was burning and then suddenly it was like a mega bomb went off.
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It’s a combination of things, but in this specific example, most of the difference is due to different vapor pressure.
Vapor pressure is a measure of how much of a substance is present in the air above a liquid. In this case gasoline has a much higher vapor pressure than diesel, so you’ve got more fuel up in the air to burn/explode.
Gasoline and diesel are literally distilled from the same source (crude oil). Gasoline is the lower boiling stuff, diesel a little higher – so gas is easier to evaporate, hence the higher vapor pressure.
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