35 | 52.30 | 48.95 |
| Coal-gas | 7.90 | 19.10 | 11.20 |
| Ethylene | 4.10 | 14.60 | 10.50 |
| Methane | 6.10 | 12.80 | 6.70 |
| Benzene (vapour) | 2.65 | 6.50 | 3.85 |
| Pentane " | 2.40 | 4.90 | 2.50 |
| Benzoline " | 2.40 | 4.90 | 2.50 |
|__________________|___________|___________|_________________________|
These figures are of great practical significance. They indicate that a
mixture of acetylene and air becomes explosive (_i.e._, will explode
if a light is applied to it) when only 3.35 per cent. of the mixture is
acetylene, while a similar mixture of coal-gas and air is not explosive
until the coal-gas reaches 7.9 per cent. of the mixture. And again, air
may be added to coal-gas, and it does not become explosive until the
coal-gas is reduced to 19.1 per cent. of the mixture, while, on the
contrary, if air is added to acetylene, the mixture becomes explosive as
soon as the acetylene has fallen to 52.3 per cent. Hence the immense
importance of taking precautions to avoid, on the one hand, the escape of
acetylene into the air of a room, and, on the other hand, the admixture
of air with the acetylene in any vessel containing it or any pipe through
which it passes.
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