|
|
Post by ironhold on Oct 8, 2013 15:21:39 GMT
"Girth", 8 October 2013The premise of this particular comic strip is that skunk spray is highly combustible, such that all one has to do is throw a match out when a skunk is about to spray and an explosion will take place (a la the whole "The gator lost his mind" bit from another thread). That being said, 1. Is skunk spray even flammable? 2. Would the average person have a reaction time fast enough to do what is proposed?
|
|
|
|
Post by the light works on Oct 8, 2013 16:18:12 GMT
"Girth", 8 October 2013The premise of this particular comic strip is that skunk spray is highly combustible, such that all one has to do is throw a match out when a skunk is about to spray and an explosion will take place (a la the whole "The gator lost his mind" bit from another thread). That being said, 1. Is skunk spray even flammable? 2. Would the average person have a reaction time fast enough to do what is proposed? I have it on good authority that skunks aerosolize their spray pretty effectivlely. that leaves a few question: is there a high enough oil content to make it flammable. is it sufficiently self oxidising that it would combust inside the scent glands do you really want to ignite a flammable substance that is being propelled towards your face? |
|
|
|
Post by Cybermortis on Oct 8, 2013 16:48:18 GMT
Skunk spray is not flammable. As for combustion inside the glands...How would evolving an exploding bottom make a species better suited to survive than species that didn't, well, run the risk of blowing themselves up if they sat down or got constipated? Brings a whole new meaning to 'explosive diarrhoea'...  |
|
|
|
Post by the light works on Oct 8, 2013 16:56:01 GMT
Skunk spray is not flammable. As for combustion inside the glands...How would evolving an exploding bottom make a species better suited to survive than species that didn't, well, run the risk of blowing themselves up if they sat down or got constipated? Brings a whole new meaning to 'explosive diarrhoea'... keep in mind most predators don't carry matches; so the exploding bottom would not necessarily be an evolutionary factor. |
|
|
|
Post by User Unavailable on Oct 8, 2013 18:08:39 GMT
Skunk spray is not flammable. As for combustion inside the glands...How would evolving an exploding bottom make a species better suited to survive than species that didn't, well, run the risk of blowing themselves up if they sat down or got constipated? Brings a whole new meaning to 'explosive diarrhoea'... Scientists Say skunk spray is highly flammable.. Pest control Say the chemical in skunk spray is flammable.Though I don't see why the skunk would explode as in the the OP, for obvious reasons. |
|
|
|
Post by the light works on Oct 8, 2013 18:24:15 GMT
Skunk spray is not flammable. As for combustion inside the glands...How would evolving an exploding bottom make a species better suited to survive than species that didn't, well, run the risk of blowing themselves up if they sat down or got constipated? Brings a whole new meaning to 'explosive diarrhoea'... Scientists Say skunk spray is highly flammable.. Pest control Say the chemical in skunk spray is flammable.Though I don't see why the skunk would explode as in the the OP, for obvious reasons. so, theoretically, an animal which managed to develop an ignition system COULD evolve a flamethrower.... |
|
|
|
Post by User Unavailable on Oct 9, 2013 4:26:04 GMT
so, theoretically, an animal which managed to develop an ignition system COULD evolve a flamethrower.... It wouldn't be a very good evolution for a forest dwelling creature!  |
|
|
|
Post by ironhold on Oct 9, 2013 4:56:42 GMT
so, theoretically, an animal which managed to develop an ignition system COULD evolve a flamethrower.... It wouldn't be a very good evolution for a forest dwelling creature! ...but it would be a downright hilarious Pokemon critter. |
|
|
|
Post by ponytail61 on Oct 9, 2013 5:15:22 GMT
It wouldn't be a very good evolution for a forest dwelling creature! ...but it would be a downright hilarious Pokemon critter. You could call it an Ass Dragon  |
|
|
|
Post by Cybermortis on Oct 9, 2013 9:33:07 GMT
Skunk spray is not flammable. As for combustion inside the glands...How would evolving an exploding bottom make a species better suited to survive than species that didn't, well, run the risk of blowing themselves up if they sat down or got constipated? Brings a whole new meaning to 'explosive diarrhoea'... Scientists Say skunk spray is highly flammable.. Pest control Say the chemical in skunk spray is flammable.Though I don't see why the skunk would explode as in the the OP, for obvious reasons. Methyl Mercaptan is not the primary chemical in Skunk spray, in fact it isn't one of the chemicals that goes into the spray. It comes from the digestive system of the Skunk, more specifically its excrement. You'll also find it in your brain (seriously) and digestive system as well as it being in soil and some cheeses and nuts - so its a gas that turns up where you have biological processes. The warnings about the gas come from the fact that no one is sure what is a dangerous level of exposure to it. People have died due to exposure to the gas, but always in industrial plants. I did some reading up on what the spray is made from, the chemicals are Thiols and the main component (who's chemical name I can't recall first thing in the morning) is not as far as I can tell flammable. In fact the only problems I can find references to when dealing with the spray is a tendency for the smell to clear buildings and cause complaints from everyone working there - it seems that the reason to took so long to work out what is in Skunk spray is because anyone who tried to work with it was told to stop in short order because everyone else was running out of the building due to the smell. |
|
|
|
Post by the light works on Oct 9, 2013 14:07:28 GMT
Methyl Mercaptan is not the primary chemical in Skunk spray, in fact it isn't one of the chemicals that goes into the spray. It comes from the digestive system of the Skunk, more specifically its excrement. You'll also find it in your brain (seriously) and digestive system as well as it being in soil and some cheeses and nuts - so its a gas that turns up where you have biological processes. The warnings about the gas come from the fact that no one is sure what is a dangerous level of exposure to it. People have died due to exposure to the gas, but always in industrial plants. I did some reading up on what the spray is made from, the chemicals are Thiols and the main component (who's chemical name I can't recall first thing in the morning) is not as far as I can tell flammable. In fact the only problems I can find references to when dealing with the spray is a tendency for the smell to clear buildings and cause complaints from everyone working there - it seems that the reason to took so long to work out what is in Skunk spray is because anyone who tried to work with it was told to stop in short order because everyone else was running out of the building due to the smell. I was thinking of all the Discovery and History channel specials on dragons which derive some absurdly farfetched mechanism for dragons to be able to breathe, belch, or spit fire. (worst was that their intestinal flora produced hydrogen instead of methane - which also accounted for them being able to fly with undersized wings.) |
|
|
|
Post by ironhold on Oct 9, 2013 14:42:48 GMT
I was thinking of all the Discovery and History channel specials on dragons which derive some absurdly farfetched mechanism for dragons to be able to breathe, belch, or spit fire. (worst was that their intestinal flora produced hydrogen instead of methane - which also accounted for them being able to fly with undersized wings.) The 1980s movie "The Flight Of Dragons" offered a far more plausible explanation. Dragons eat certain stones and gems to help them digest in much the same way that some birds eat pebbles. When the stones and gems finally dissolve in their stomachs, however, it produces a flammable gas. Dragons learn to belch this gas out, and in the process of the gas coming out it comes into contact with a gland on the roof of their mouth that produces electricity just like an eel does. The sparks from the gland ignite the gas, creating the blast of flame. The trade-off, however, is that a dragon must constantly eat these stones and gems, as if they don't then they can run out of gas. This actually happened right in the middle of a key fight sequence in the movie, leading to some bad things going down. |
|
|
|
Post by the light works on Oct 9, 2013 14:48:41 GMT
The 1980s movie "The Flight Of Dragons" offered a far more plausible explanation. Dragons eat certain stones and gems to help them digest in much the same way that some birds eat pebbles. When the stones and gems finally dissolve in their stomachs, however, it produces a flammable gas. Dragons learn to belch this gas out, and in the process of the gas coming out it comes into contact with a gland on the roof of their mouth that produces electricity just like an eel does. The sparks from the gland ignite the gas, creating the blast of flame. The trade-off, however, is that a dragon must constantly eat these stones and gems, as if they don't then they can run out of gas. This actually happened right in the middle of a key fight sequence in the movie, leading to some bad things going down. I would classify that more as a fictional reenactment than a movie. I believe I saw that one, as well, and it came in just behind the dragon using intestinal gas for flight bouyancy. |
|
|
|
Post by User Unavailable on Oct 9, 2013 15:15:20 GMT
Methyl Mercaptan is not the primary chemical in Skunk spray, in fact it isn't one of the chemicals that goes into the spray. It comes from the digestive system of the Skunk, more specifically its excrement. You'll also find it in your brain (seriously) and digestive system as well as it being in soil and some cheeses and nuts - so its a gas that turns up where you have biological processes. The warnings about the gas come from the fact that no one is sure what is a dangerous level of exposure to it. People have died due to exposure to the gas, but always in industrial plants. I did some reading up on what the spray is made from, the chemicals are Thiols and the main component (who's chemical name I can't recall first thing in the morning) is not as far as I can tell flammable. In fact the only problems I can find references to when dealing with the spray is a tendency for the smell to clear buildings and cause complaints from everyone working there - it seems that the reason to took so long to work out what is in Skunk spray is because anyone who tried to work with it was told to stop in short order because everyone else was running out of the building due to the smell. If you continue to read, you'll find that many Thiols are flammable...... Including some of the thiols in skunk spray, such as 3-methyl-1-butanethiol. |
|
|
|
Post by silverdragon on Oct 14, 2013 9:57:52 GMT
Erm, its water based?....
Even of part of it is flammable, its like the Alcohol in your average beer, its dissolved in Water, so wont ignite.
|
|
|
|
Post by the light works on Oct 14, 2013 14:02:40 GMT
Erm, its water based?.... Even of part of it is flammable, its like the Alcohol in your average beer, its dissolved in Water, so wont ignite. that was my question: is it water based or oil based? |
|
|
|
Post by User Unavailable on Oct 14, 2013 16:49:02 GMT
Erm, its water based?.... Even of part of it is flammable, its like the Alcohol in your average beer, its dissolved in Water, so wont ignite. that was my question: is it water based or oil based? It is a yellow oil like substance made up of thiols and thioacetates. |
|
|
|
Post by the light works on Oct 14, 2013 17:06:29 GMT
that was my question: is it water based or oil based? It is a yellow oil like substance made up of thiols and thioacetates. not to be pedantic - I don't know if it is a flammable mixture or not - some people appear to be saying yes, and others appear to be saying no. I still stick to my original analysis. holding a match up to an animal that intends to spray a potentially flammable substance at my face does not appear to be the best possible course of action. |
|
|
|
Post by Cybermortis on Oct 14, 2013 17:22:55 GMT
Of course as MB discovered the hard way Skunks don't exactly spray on command* - something that seems to be backed up by all the sources I've run across that indicate they only spray as a last resort, mainly because they don't have enough fluid for more than a handful of sprays.
(*It says a lot about the show that not being sprayed by a Skunk was considered annoying....)
|
|
|
|
Post by the light works on Oct 14, 2013 17:34:23 GMT
Of course as MB discovered the hard way Skunks don't exactly spray on command* - something that seems to be backed up by all the sources I've run across that indicate they only spray as a last resort, mainly because they don't have enough fluid for more than a handful of sprays. (*It says a lot about the show that not being sprayed by a Skunk was considered annoying....) and to a small degree, because they have noses, too. |
|
