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What actually triggers an explosion?

Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2016 3:48 pm
by CPTANT
I was testing around a bit to see when plasma/oxygen interaction produces an explosion, but it seems to be rather inconsistent.

TTV's work of course
Cannister bombs also are a thing (though I haven't actually used one ever)

However I tried Connecting a supercooled oxygen cannister with a superhot plasma tank but this seems to have no effect whatsoever.

Also no effect in pipes themselves(though this is quite expected)


Also wondering about single tank bombs(which don't even have documentation actually). Have you ever managed to get one to produce decent results?

Re: What actually triggers an explosion?

Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2016 3:49 pm
by Shaps-cloud
I believe it would have something to do with pressure from the plasma suddenly mixing with the oxygen?

Re: What actually triggers an explosion?

Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2016 3:59 pm
by DemonFiren
If you want tips on singletanks I can refer you to Knaive, the most robust atmos player I've seen in a long while.

Re: What actually triggers an explosion?

Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2016 4:17 pm
by Screemonster
As I understand it, it's based on the pressure in the tank. If the tank exceeds its maximum pressure, it ruptures. Size of the boom is based on just how far above its pressure rating it gets.
So basically you need to give it a mix that the atmo code looks at and goes "okay so there's x moles of plasma and y moles of oxygen and it's above the flashpoint so create a gasmix of z moles of CO2 at t temperature"
After it's done all its calculations and processing and so on and so forth and now your gas mix is a bunch of moles of CO2 at a stupidhigh temperature which translates to a fuckton of pressure, the tank finally looks at what pressure it's holding, realises it's TOO DAMN HIGH, and kaboom ensues.

I remember the time I was fucking around on an old test server and varedited the contents of an air tank 'cause I was being lazy and just thought "fuck using a canister to fill this, I'll just put like a million moles of gas in it", hello huge explosion how are you today

Re: What actually triggers an explosion?

Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2016 5:40 pm
by Anonmare
I don't remember much about pressure from physics class but higher-pressures = higher-temperature and lower ignition points if I remember correctly

Re: What actually triggers an explosion?

Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2016 5:44 pm
by kevinz000
It's the pressure causing a tank rupture

Re: What actually triggers an explosion?

Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2016 6:51 pm
by Drynwyn
The pressure thing is correct. Expanding on that, the reason connecting two canisters via pipes won't explode is because canisters don't have a max internal pressure (you can cram the sun into them if you feel like it). Canister bombs have a tank in them, and it's that tank rupturing that produces an explosion.

Re: What actually triggers an explosion?

Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2016 7:08 pm
by Screemonster
Drynwyn wrote:The pressure thing is correct. Expanding on that, the reason connecting two canisters via pipes won't explode is because canisters don't have a max internal pressure (you can cram the sun into them if you feel like it). Canister bombs have a tank in them, and it's that tank rupturing that produces an explosion.
Yah, is why putting a full tank of O2 into a heated plasma canister won't do shit, if the canister can't add any more gas to the tank it'll just sit there.
(filling an O2 canister with heated plasma and waiting for someone to top off their internals tank though? Hilarious)

Re: What actually triggers an explosion?

Posted: Fri Nov 11, 2016 10:47 am
by CPTANT
But the odd thing is that mixing hot plasma and cold oxygen in a cannister doesn't even lead to a large pressure, it just averages out the temperature......

Re: What actually triggers an explosion?

Posted: Fri Nov 11, 2016 11:37 pm
by Screemonster
The resulting mixture needs to be above the flash point for a plasma/oxygen mix before it'll burn in the canister. Can't remember what that flash point is off the top of my head.
If you have too much cold O2, the resulting mix will still be cold and won't catch.

Re: What actually triggers an explosion?

Posted: Sat Nov 12, 2016 1:30 am
by CPTANT
Screemonster wrote:The resulting mixture needs to be above the flash point for a plasma/oxygen mix before it'll burn in the canister. Can't remember what that flash point is off the top of my head.
If you have too much cold O2, the resulting mix will still be cold and won't catch.
Seems dubious since I tested this with more plasma to oxygen than I usually use in bombs.

Re: What actually triggers an explosion?

Posted: Sat Nov 12, 2016 5:46 pm
by Danowar
What makes even less sense are single tank bombs, if those are still a thing. I still have the old recipe for it, but I haven't had to chance to try it out in awhile.

Re: What actually triggers an explosion?

Posted: Sat Nov 12, 2016 8:59 pm
by Anonmare
They're still a thing. Single-tanks aren't very powerful even under optimal conditions. You could probably your way through the AI sats walls with them though

Re: What actually triggers an explosion?

Posted: Sat Nov 12, 2016 9:50 pm
by Knaive
My best single tank bombs only reach just a bit above a syndicate minibomb, but they're still great with voice-igniter assemblies. Plus you can switch between using them as a firebomb or a regular bomb. They're so versatile yet woefully underused.

Re: What actually triggers an explosion?

Posted: Sat Nov 12, 2016 9:51 pm
by CPTANT
Knaive wrote:My best single tank bombs only reach just a bit above a syndicate minibomb, but they're still great with voice-igniter assemblies. Plus you can switch between using them as a firebomb or a regular bomb. They're so versatile yet woefully underused.
Not odd since there is literally ZERO documentation on them.

Also do they even still work? I had them leak contents when the pressure went over 3000kpa, meaning I see them only useful as firebombs.

Re: What actually triggers an explosion?

Posted: Sat Nov 12, 2016 10:12 pm
by Knaive
CPTANT wrote:
Knaive wrote:My best single tank bombs only reach just a bit above a syndicate minibomb, but they're still great with voice-igniter assemblies. Plus you can switch between using them as a firebomb or a regular bomb. They're so versatile yet woefully underused.
Not odd since there is literally ZERO documentation on them.

Also do they even still work? I had them leak contents when the pressure went over 3000kpa, meaning I see them only useful as firebombs.
Well tanks start to leak at around 30x the standard atmos pressure, so once you hit around 3039 kPa the contents will leak out. I try to get just as close as I can under that. And then don't forget to use a welder.