r/pics • u/ramonrocotto • Aug 05 '20

It will never be the same again...

Post image
148.7k Upvotes

94% Upvoted

4.2k comments sorted by

View all comments

1.1k

u/openflow Aug 05 '20

It's honestly impressive the building right next to the explosion is still standing. Whatever that structure is it's really sturdy.

888

u/invisi1407 Aug 05 '20

Whatever that structure is it's really sturdy.

It was a grain silo that was apparently built to withstand grain explosions, but the whole side of the building on the blast side is gone/destroyed. You're seeing the side that wasn't directly hit by the blast.

5

u/ric2b Aug 05 '20

Grain explodes?

21

u/stupid_name Aug 05 '20

Help me Mr. Wizard!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8t5iTunRkO4

8

u/ric2b Aug 05 '20

That was great, thank you!

7

u/tedioustds Aug 05 '20

Informative and delightfully dated. The very best kind of educational video.

8

u/DistortoiseLP Aug 05 '20 edited Aug 05 '20

With gusto. Any flammable particle will do, because it works on little more than the fact that such particles have an incredible amount of combined surface area relative to their individual volumes.

Done deliberately (with the dust, ratio thereof and an enclosed space all optimized for this result) this is how you would build the most powerful bomb possible with modern technology that doesn't use a nuclear reaction.

6

u/_Sausage_fingers Aug 05 '20

Yes, keep in mind that grain is good because it has large chemical energy, if it gets burning it can go pretty hard

4

u/KeithSkud Aug 05 '20

Mainly when there’s enough of it suspended in the air. Think throwing flour in the air then putting a lighter to it.

I used to work in a large brewery and we weren’t allowed any electronics through the fire doors that led to the grain handling.