• argv_minus_one@beehaw.org
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    1 year ago

    Gasoline doesn’t burn that easily, either. Cars with gas tanks don’t burst into flames while sitting powered off in a garage. Even when they get wrecked they don’t usually burst into flames.

    On the other hand, gasoline is slowly causing the world to burst into flames…

    • Platomus
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      1 year ago

      Well yeah… You need a spark to cause a fire. To have ignition you need oxygen, fuel and a spark.

      Nothing burns easily if there’s no spark.

      • Umbrias@beehaw.org
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        1 year ago

        Gasoline burns accidentally when fumes are released, as the stoichiometric mixture has to be pretty specific to combust.

        Gasoline in a gas tank does not achieve this mixture. That’s the entire job of the fuel pump and throttle in modern cars. As the other user said, there are lots of sparks and live electricity in a car crash, it’s just not easy to set gasoline on fire or make it explode.

        Diesel does not appear to achieve this vapor mixture readily at standard temp and pressure, like gasoline does, and therefore is technically safer in this specific regard.

        • Platomus
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          1 year ago

          Gasoline doesn’t burn that easily, either. Cars with gas tanks don’t burst into flames while sitting powered off in a garage

          Diesel combusts at 140 degrees. A care could reach those temps in a car accident as well if we’re making that argument.