1st POINT (To herb.gilliland@…)
You said:
“Why? It requires at least 1,200 degrees to ignite gasoline, and a cigarette burns at less than that temperature. It’s the 3,600 degree spark from a lighter or the open flame, or the spark plug in your running vehicle that ignites gasoline.”
You are WRONG on three key points! See wikipedia links below:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flashpoint#Examples_of_fuel_flash_points
1st:
Gasoline DOESN’T ignite at 1,200 F degrees. It will AUTO-IGNITE at only 410 F. This is why an overheated car will ping and “diesel” when the ignition key is turned off. The gas is auto-igniting due to a combination of compression and a very hot engine. A cigarette burns between 750-1,000 degrees, which is well above the 410 degrees needed to ignite gasoline vapors.
Link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire#Typical_temperatures_of_fires_and_flames
2nd:
Regarding your foolish friend who extinguished his cigarette in a cup of gasoline at the gas station:
The danger from cigarettes in a gas station isn’t necessarily the cigarette coming into contact with liquid gasoline- it’s the VAPORS coming out of the car’s gas tank opening which are being displaced by the liquid going into the tank that is the hazardous aspect. Gasolione (in vapor form) has Oxygen molecules all around the gasoline molecules, and this allows for an easy and rapid oxidation.
You said your friend at the gas station foolishly extinguished his cigarette in a cup of gasoline. Has your friend tried to extinguish a cigarette in a empty 5-gallon gas can (or 5-gallon bucket) after pouring 2 tablespoons of liquid gasoline into the can and letting it sit for just 2 minutes in the sun? A much different result will ensue, and I’m sure we’ll all see a video of it someday on YouTube, entitled, “What Not To Do At Home”. That is the very reason gasoline tankers must display placards whether they are loaded or empty. In fact, an empty gasoline tanker is much more dangerous because the risk of an explosion caused by the gasoline vapors is much higher.
3rd:
Your notion that a Bic lighter could reach temperatures of 3,600 degrees is just nonsense. It burns at 1,977 F. Here’s the link to the CORRECT temperature of a Butane flame:
http://www.derose.net/steve/resources/engtables/flametemp.html
If that were the case, then every smoker would have a great tool in his pocket that could effectively cut padlocks off of doors. Steel has a melting point and becomes a manageable liquid above 2066 degrees F.
(Link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structural_steel#Thermal_properties)
4th:
To the original poster who said he/she discriminates against smokers:
I guess you haven’t realized that smokers are productive people. A few come to mind: Walt Disney, Arnold Schwarzenegger (That’s GOVERNOR Arnold Schwarzenegger…), Whoopi Goldberg, George Burns, Johnny Carson, Jimmy Page (Led Zepplin), and many more icons spanning several generations.
If a non-smoker and I both appeared in front of you vying for the same job and you selected the other person soley because he/she didn’t smoke, you would have just allowed a MENSA member (me) to walk out your door due to your own prejudice. Your loss…
There are other categories of people who have a lot more health issues than smokers. Obese people come to mind. I’m not talking a person with a few extra pounds, I’m talking about someone at least 50 lbs over their ideal weight. Diabetes, knee and ankle problems, high blood pressure, and eye problems are but a few of the weight-related medical conditions that are causing your precious business to have a lot more negative cash flow problems (high insurance premiums come to mind?…) than smokers do. These people have to take time off of YOUR precious work schedule to go see doctors to help manage their diabetes, joint problems, high blood pressure, and so forth.
My wife of 31 years died 8 months ago at the ripe old age of 50 because she refused to lose weight or do ANYTHING which required activity to help build her muscle mass. She weighed 285, and her life ended abruptly when she had a massive heart attack in her sleep because of her lifestyle choices.
Like a previous poster stated, if you had substituded the word “Hispanic or Black”, or “Jew or Bhuddist” or, “Asian or Indian” instead of “Smoker” you would be called prejudicial or a racist. That’s because you are prejudice. You just haven’t realized it yet…
