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Asked by miller to Akshat, Aime, Diana, Gemma, Judith on 16 Jun 2011.
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Judith McCann answered on 16 Jun 2011:
I didn’t realise solid Sulfur is explosive. I know that Sulfur dust is really explosive, but the most materials become more reactive as dust, this is because they are surrounded by air (oxygen is needed for things to combust) and have a higher surface area.
The main problem is that when Sulfur is in other dust it is still as explosive at pure sulfur!
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Akshat Rathi answered on 16 Jun 2011:
Judith is right. Sulfur dose not explode on its own, only its very fine dust does.
See:
Those yellow piles you can see in the distance are elemental sulfur which are stable in open air. 🙂 -
Gemma Sharp answered on 16 Jun 2011:
I have to admit, I don’t really know anything about sulfur, so I wasn’t sure if it was explosive or not.
When I was reading up on it though I found out it’s in gunpowder (which is explosive!) along with carbon and potassium nitrate. Apparently, without sulfur, gunpowder is still explosive, but sulfur makes it stronger. It lowers the temperature needed to set the mixture alight, which increases how fast it will burn.
So thanks for asking the question! I think being on I’m a Scientist is gonna help me win my next pub quiz 😉
Comments
freddo commented on :
Its the same concept as why nano particles have different characteristics than the same element in bulk. you can thank additional AQA chemistry for that fact. 😉
Judith commented on :
Youre chemistry is well done! thesmaller volume something has the higher the surface are ratio to volume is, this is why mice loose heat faster than polar bears! At nano scale, other forces become more relevant- so say the interactions between two objects becomes more of an influence than gravity, which is how dust stays floating for so damn long after you hoover!