Re: Bullets + Gas tanks. The truth?

[Robert "J." Hansen <rjhansen@xxxxxxxx>]

> Whats the truith behind guns and gas? What really happens if I use my
> AK-47 to shoot up the gas tank of an Accord stationwagon?

You get a punctured gas tank and gas leaking out on the ground, which is
a definite fire hazard.  But bullets rarely make sparks (for an example,
swing a sledgehammer against an I-beam, and see how many sparks get
created), so there's not much risk of the bullet itself setting the tank
afire.

Tracers and API (armor-piercing incendiary) rounds are exceptions to
this rule, of course.

> What about those big gas tankers? Will it destroy a city block if I
> shoot at it with a 5.56?

You won't even penetrate the tank.  Those things are heavily armored for
a reason.  You'd need a fifty-cal, or something in that range.

Even then, there'd be no explosion, nor would the gasoline catch fire.
The tanks are purged with nitrogen, which is an inert gas.  There's no
oxidizer to react with, thus, no fire.  Once the gas spurted out the
fifty-cal hole at high pressure, though, it'd aerosolize and at that
point a stray spark could be catastrophic.