Can Engines Be Disabled with Poison?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion explores the feasibility of disabling diesel or gasoline engines using substances like smoke bombs or gaseous agents. It examines theoretical and practical implications, including the chemical interactions involved in engine operation and fire suppression.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant questions the practicality of using a smoke bomb or gaseous substance to prevent an engine from running.
  • Another participant notes that engines require oxygen from the atmosphere, similar to human respiration.
  • A participant discusses the use of bromocarbons like halons in fire suppression, suggesting they terminate radical chain reactions, and questions their effectiveness against diesel and gasoline fires under oxygen-rich conditions.
  • It is mentioned that halon extinguishers are used on aircraft jet engines, emphasizing that cutting off the fuel supply is crucial for extinguishing fires inside the engine core.
  • One participant concludes that there is little precedent for this approach and suggests it may be impossible.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the effectiveness and practicality of using gaseous substances to disable engines, with no consensus reached on the feasibility of the proposed methods.

Contextual Notes

The discussion does not resolve the assumptions regarding the chemical interactions necessary for disabling engines or the specific conditions under which such methods might be effective.

jety89
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Hi, is it possible to prevent a diesel or gasoline engine from running with e.g. a smoke bomb or with some gaseous substance? Would it be practical?
 
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Just as much as you need oxygen from the atmosphere to breathe and stay alive, so does an engine.
 
Bromocarbons like halons are routinely used to fight fires. They do so by releasing bromine radicals which react with free radical intermediates of radical chain reaction, so terminating the chain.

Are halons effective against diesel and gasoline fuel fires at concentrations where oxygen is still abundant for reaction?
 
Halon extinguishers are used on aircraft jet engines for fires outside of the engine core.

Inside the engine core, the most important factor in extinguishing a fire is to cut off the fuel supply.
 
So, there isn't mouch precedent, and it's probably impossible.
 
Closed pending moderation
 

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