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Stupid question

  • 15-04-2019 1:15pm
    #1
    Ultimate Seduction
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,464 ✭✭✭


    Often wondered this.

    Methane is flammable and sometimes explosive, so if we sent a probe to Titan and it caused a spark on landing, would the whole planet/moon burst in to flames or possibly explode?


Comments

  • #2
    King Mob
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 25,323 ✭✭✭✭King Mob


    No, as the methane would require a source of oxygen to combust.
    methanecombustion-58e3e6005f9b58ef7e0daa10.jpg
    https://www.thoughtco.com/combustion-reactions-604030
    For the methane molecule to combust and release it's energy it requires two molecules of oxygen.
    So even if you introduced some oxygen it wouldn't set of a planet wide chain reaction.

    And this would before considering how the temperatures and pressures on Titan would factor in.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRnpKjHpFyg


  • #3
    Shedmanstyle
    Registered Users Posts: 36 ✭Shedmanstyle


    Ultimate Seduction wrote: »
    Often wondered this.

    Methane is flammable and sometimes explosive, so if we sent a probe to Titan and it caused a spark on landing, would the whole planet/moon burst in to flames or possibly explode?

    And agreeing with King Mob. Every gas has an upper explosion limit UEL and lower explosion limit LEL where the % of potentially explosive gas to oxygen means a bang if an ignition source is introduced to anything between the LEL and UEL. Anything outside of these limits is safe.

    For Methane, anything between 5 & 15% is explosive with oxygen and an ignition source.


  • #4
    Zubeneschamali
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 16,686 ✭✭✭✭Zubeneschamali


    Ultimate Seduction wrote: »
    Methane is flammable and sometimes explosive, so if we sent a probe to Titan and it caused a spark on landing, would the whole planet/moon burst in to flames or possibly explode?


    The Earth is very unusual in that there is a load of molecular oxygen in the atmosphere. It is this oxygen which makes hydrogen, methane and such flammable. There is no free oxygen on Jupiter, Saturn or Titan.


    The only reason there is free oxygen here is that plants create it from CO2 during photosynthesis. If life died off on Earth, the oxygen would all react with stuff, and soon (in geological terms) it'd be gone, and Methane could not burn here either.


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