Man faces 2-6 years in prison

[Pengwuino]

...which is nothing compared to the lifetime of stupidity this guy must endure.

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/6790966/detail.html

A man from Sheridan is facing explosives charges after he accidentally blew up his own car with a gas-filled balloon he was taking to a Super Bowl party...

...They explained that they were taking a balloon to a Super Bowl party -- a balloon filled with acetylene, a very explosive gas used in welding -- so they could blow up the balloon while celebrating.

 

[zoobyshoe]

...which is nothing compared to the lifetime of stupidity this guy must endure.

That's insane. He shouldn't get any time for that! I should think the loss of his car would serve as enough of a deterrent to future acetylene balloon making.

 

[Pengwuino]

I guess its illegal to have that substance in denver?

 

[zoobyshoe]

I guess its illegal to have that substance in denver?

It's a gas used in welding. Can't be illegal.

 

[cronxeh]

Ah, yes, I've heard all kinds of warm talk and compassion for the chemical from my orgo prof about ethyne

 

[Cyrus]

I think the illegal part is the transport of the gas in a vessel that did not have the appropriate safety factor in case of an accident. Thats the whole reason that when they transport them by flatbed truck they have those warning! Explosive! Tags all around the truck, the Gas is in thick-walled pressure vessels, and they are tied down in bundels to the sides of the truck so that they they don't go rolling off individually in case of an accident and blow up killing people.

 

[DocToxyn]

I think the illegal part is the transport of the gas in a vessel that did not have the appropriate safety factor in case of an accident.

Plus there's the whole bit that he knowingly and willingly constructed a bomb and was planing on using it.:uhh:

 

[rachmaninoff]

Honorary Darwin award - what do you say?

 

[FredGarvin]

Oh man...the picture of their car is priceless.

 

[zoobyshoe]

Plus there's the whole bit that he knowingly and willingly constructed a bomb and was planing on using it.:uhh:

This has got to be what the cops are thinking. My impression, though, is that these guys thought they had something on the lines of a cherry bomb: a big noisemaker.

 

[Galaxy33]

I think the illegal part is the transport of the gas in a vessel that did not have the appropriate safety factor in case of an accident. Thats the whole reason that when they transport them by flatbed truck they have those warning! Explosive! Tags all around the truck, the Gas is in thick-walled pressure vessels, and they are tied down in bundels to the sides of the truck so that they they don't go rolling off individually in case of an accident and blow up killing people.

I agree, but I don't think that any kind of explosive material is legal to transport if you are not qualified to do so (even if tags were put on the vehicle ). It is danger not only to the unqualified person who transports it, but to the public in general.



Galaxy33

 

[BobG]

I'm stunned he would do this. Either he's a welder and should know the hazards of acetylene gas or, more likely, he's an amateur hobbyist who uses calcium carbide and water to fuel his miner's lamp.

Your old fashioned miner's lamps has two chambers. The bottom chamber holds calcium carbide and the top chamber holds water. The water is allowed to drip into the lower chamber, where it reacts with the calcium carbide to form acetylene gas. The gas is ignited to provide light.

An amateur familiar with the general principle but fuzzy on details might discover the principle could be modified. Some might find the idea of a flaming balloon flying around the room amusing. Probably surprising to find out what happens when enough of the gas accumulates and all ignites at once.

 

[cronxeh]

I'm stunned he would do this. Either he's a welder and should know the hazards of acetylene gas or, more likely, he's an amateur hobbyist who uses calcium carbide and water to fuel his miner's lamp.

Your old fashioned miner's lamps has two chambers. The bottom chamber holds calcium carbide and the top chamber holds water. The water is allowed to drip into the lower chamber, where it reacts with the calcium carbide to form acetylene gas. The gas is ignited to provide light.

An amateur familiar with the general principle but fuzzy on details might discover the principle could be modified. Some might find the idea of a flaming balloon flying around the room amusing. Probably surprising to find out what happens when enough of the gas accumulates and all ignites at once.

Neither of those scenarios are an excuse for the amount of gas that was in that balloon and caused this explosion. This man deserves 6+ years in jail for his stupidity and sheer disregard for public safety. His celebration should not come at a price to those around him, and certainly his ignorance of exothermic rxns should not be basis for reduction of the sentence.

If anyone with background in statics wants to do some calculations on the force required to damage the car like that, please post here. I'd love to know just how much ethyne was in that balloon.

 

[Jeff Ford]

I agree, but I don't think that any kind of explosive material is legal to transport if you are not qualified to do so (even if tags were put on the vehicle ). It is danger not only to the unqualified person who transports it, but to the public in general.



Galaxy33

You're right. You need a special HazMat drivers license to transport something like that.

 

[Cyrus]

BAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAAHAH THAT PICTURE IS PRICELESS!

http://images.ibsys.com/2006/0206/6790884_480X360.jpg

He should have rubbed the balloon on his head to charge it up real good, and then hold it and ask someone to touch the balloon. Then there would be two less stupid people. I am amazed they did not die. Could you imagine driving down the road and the car next to you just busts out like that right beside you!? KABOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!

 

[motai]

BAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAAHAH THAT PICTURE IS PRICELESS!

http://images.ibsys.com/2006/0206/6790884_480X360.jpg

[/URL]

I'm pretty sure the insurance companies are not going to help out either...

Our chemistry professor did a reaction with calcium carbide and water, basically forming acetylene gas in a small cannon. The cannon was pretty small (roughly around a foot (30.48 cm)), and cotton was stuffed at the other end of the barrel to keep the acetylene gas in the cannon.

Then he ignited the other end and then a very loud pop, sort of like a hydrogen balloon exploding but higher pitched. Now I'd imagine that was a small amount of acetylene gas in that cannon, yet they decided to fill up an entire balloon .

 

[Cyrus]

I bet all their hair was singed. I want a pic of the husband and wife with no eyebrows! LOL

 

[FredGarvin]

Could you imagine driving down the road and the car next to you just busts out like that right beside you!? KABOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!

I had this image of a puffer fish going down the road....fat dumb and happy.....fat dumb and happy......POOF!

 

[Astronuc]

If anyone with background in statics wants to do some calculations on the force required to damage the car like that, please post here. I'd love to know just how much ethyne was in that balloon.

One would have to know the size of the balloon and how it conflagrated. Overpressure was not so great as to kill the occupants, so I doubt it was explosive. My initial guess is something on the order of 1 atm (~15 psid) overpressure, or 2 atm absolute.

 

[FredGarvin]

One would have to know the size of the balloon and how it conflagrated. Overpressure was not so great as to kill the occupants, so I doubt it was explosive. My initial guess is something on the order of 1 atm (~15 psid) overpressure, or 2 atm absolute.

I wouldn't be surprised if there was a ruptured ear drum or two.

 

[Chi Meson]

Once I was in a car when a high pressure bicycle tire popped. Man, that alone almost caused an accident. I just wanted to sit on the curb by the road and smoke a cigarette, and I don't smoke.

 

[scott1]

...which is nothing compared to the lifetime of stupidity this guy must endure.

Maybe there going to send to a mental instion

 

[chroot]

I don't believe they deserve any time in jail. They did something stupid which only affected themselves, and likely regret their actions. There's no evidence of any malicious intent.

In the same vein, if you're playing with calcium carbide at home and manage to burn your house down, you're an idiot, but not a criminal.

- Warren

 

[Cyrus]

I agree, they should be given a fine, but a VERY BIG FINE. If someone were killed, like his wife riding along with him, he would be tried for involuntary manslaughter-"unintentional death, but caused recklessly by consciously disregarding a substantial and unjustifiable risk; that endangers the lives of others."

 

[Art]

In criminal law the prosecution has to prove the mens rea and the mens actus (guilty mind and guilty act) although the act was illegal this guy sounds so stupid it would be hard to prove the guilty mind.

(a) The common law rule requiring mens rea as an element of a crime informs interpretation of §5861(d) in this case. Because some indication of congressional intent, express or implied, is required to dispense with mens rea, §5861(d)'s silence on the element of knowledge required for a conviction does not suggest that Congress intended to dispense with a conventional mens rea requirement, which would require that the defendant know the facts making his conduct illegal. Pp. 4-5.

http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/92-1441.ZS.html

So if ever arrested act really stupid

 

[chroot]

Minor correction: the terms are mens rea (guilty mind) and actus reus (guilty act).

- Warren

 

[Art]

Minor correction: the terms are mens rea (guilty mind) and actus reus (guilty act).

- Warren

oops... mea culpa

 

[Steve111]

Hi to all with just a few thoughts. :rofl: Acetylene used properly is a very useful tool. Incorrectly it is very dangerous and deadly. Think of a primary consideration that acetylene is unstable above 15 psi in open spaces larger than 1 cubic inch. Why are hoses on Oxy Acetylene torches limited to 1/4 inch inside diameter of the hose? To prevent getting to the needed total space for explosion. How about the small (4 foot tall) pressure tank that first must be completely emptied and then filled with acetone which is a porous material. When the tank is empty of gas but full of acetone it is at 14.7 atmospheric pressure. Equal inside and outside the tank. Now slowly introduce the acetylene into the pressure vessel and the acetylene is disolved into the acetone material. This process is required to assure no void space is in the tank during pressurization. The tank pressure slowly comes up to between 250 to 300 psi. What about that 15 psi issue? That is only is free space of 1 cubic inch or greater. Some people have not thought about the concern that this gas is unstable. As the pressure and temperature increases (in free space of 1 cubic inch or more) the potential for explosion increases. Acetylene does not need anything else to burn. It has all that is needed to burn by itself in an enclosed space. That is why Acetylene tanks are supposed to have flash back arrestors to stop the fire inside the fuel hose and prevent the fire from getting back into the regulator and/or into the tank itself. When the fire has been allowed to burn back into the tank an extremely large hazard (explosive danger) exists. The tank now has potential to explode! Even with the safety plugs that are designed to burn out and allow burning acetylene to vent from the tank, the danger is still very real and present until all the gas is gone from the tank. Let's look back at the balloon. Even a small balloon is almost one cubic foot in size. Now pressurize it with an unstable gas that can ignite on its own and watch an accident looking for a place to happen. Do a search for acetylene and read all the potential dangers associated with it. I hope all of you have a safe and super day.

 

[Cyrus]

I hope all of you have a safe and super day.

LMFAO, you just sounded like the local fire cheif on an instructional video, I love it! :rofl:

 

[Loren Booda]

This incident gives new meaning to "blowing up" a balloon!