Re: Greek Fire

In article <ds3fpp$lua$1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
Peter Jason <td@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

touches water?

That would lead to what is called
"blowback". Think of
the stream of liquid. It ignites at one
end. The flame
races back along the stream to ignite the
boat that launched
the stream in the first place.

Referring to the common Bunsen burner,
air/gas mixtures in a pipe will propagate at
a certain speed depending on the type of gas.

Mixed with air there is a speed rank which
goes approximately:
Acetylene/hydrogen/methane/propane etc.
he same is true of vapours & mists.
Therefore if one can , by trial and error,
keep a burning mixture projected forward at a
speed faster than the reaction or flame
speed, then all should be well.

There is another answer that would solve the constraints, if the
substance in question reacted with water itself, as well as
with a number of other substances such as wood and flesh.

I keep thinking of liquid sodium when I read those reports. I know it
is a far shot, probably beyond what the greeks could wield in battle
etc. and the discriptions that lead you to think it is a composite
material.

-- mrr
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Greek Fire
    ... the stream of liquid. ... It ignites at one ... I keep thinking of liquid sodium when I read those reports. ... Maybe the Greek Fire thing was propaganda designed to demoralize the enemy. ...
    (soc.history.medieval)
  • Re: Greek Fire
    ... the stream of liquid. ... It ignites at one ... I keep thinking of liquid sodium when I ... Greeks and others exaggerated any exploit ...
    (soc.history.medieval)
  • Re: Greek Fire
    ... the stream of liquid. ... It ignites at one ... speed faster than the reaction or flame ... I keep thinking of liquid sodium when I ...
    (soc.history.medieval)
  • Re: Greek Fire
    ... Peter Jason wrote: ... the stream of liquid. ... It ignites at one ... I keep thinking of liquid sodium when I read those reports. ...
    (soc.history.medieval)
  • Re: Greek Fire
    ... The reason is that the properties are contradictory. ... the stream of liquid. ... It ignites at one end. ... reasonably sized queue outside the funding office... ...
    (soc.history.medieval)