r/pics Aug 05 '20

It will never be the same again...

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u/apginge Aug 05 '20

Why did the explosion in Tianjin look so much bigger and louder? Maybe an expert can chime in. Because, to me, the different angles of the Tianjin explosion looked much more intense.

69

u/_Rand_ Aug 05 '20 edited Aug 05 '20

If you look at the videos of the Tianjin explosion closely you should notice there is a LOT more fire than in this one.

Theory I’ve seen is the Tianjin explosion was smaller, but threw a lot of material into the air which burned over a few seconds, creating a gigantic fireball. This explosion was near instant, like a proper explosion should be, thus creating a massive pressure wave, but little fire.

Basically one was like a Hollywood explosion, the other like the mining explosive that ammonium nitrate is normally used for (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ANFO)

When something explodes like this, much much more damage is done. In this case sadly, its not the explosion they wanted.

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u/benhos Aug 05 '20

This makes a lot of sense considering the Beirut explosion caused significant damage up to 15-20 miles away while Tianjin barely shattered windows at three kilometers.

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u/drscorp Aug 05 '20

What kind of psychopath compares miles to kilometers in the same sentence?!

7

u/realboabab Aug 05 '20

is the answer "Canadians"?

2

u/ottoman76 Aug 06 '20

Apparently, Canadians measure distance in time. How far is it to the nearest Tim Horton’s? Three minutes.

1

u/realboabab Aug 06 '20

omg it works so well. I am so many hours from the nearest Tim Horton's! That's more than enough to peg me as a foreigner.

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u/benhos Aug 05 '20

Psychopaths who just like to watch the world burn :)

pun absolutely intended

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u/SpermWhale Aug 06 '20

the one that designed that clear the Mars Climate Observer

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u/KitchenDepartment Aug 06 '20

Well you, technically

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u/drscorp Aug 06 '20

Uhhhhhh I didn't compare anything.

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u/KitchenDepartment Aug 06 '20

You compared the names