Compressed air is a mixture of gases. The majority of which is nitrogen and oxygen.


Nitrogen N2 78.084% 99.998%
Oxygen O2 20.947%
Argon Ar 0.934%
Carbon Dioxide CO2
0.033%
Neon Ne 18.2 parts per million
Helium He 5.2 parts per million
Krypton Kr 1.1 parts per million
Sulfur dioxide SO2 1.0 parts per million
Methane CH4 2.0 parts per million
Hydrogen H2 0.5 parts per million
Nitrous Oxide N2O 0.5 parts per million
Xenon Xe 0.09 parts per million
Ozone O3 0.07 parts per million
Nitrogen dioxide NO2 0.02 parts per million
Iodine I2 0.01 parts per million
Carbon monoxide CO trace
Ammonia NH3 trace

So would it blow up then if the cannister was damaged? Because from what I remember reading, they are supposed to be very safe.

Personally, I wish the guy in Australia would develop that engine, because it would seem to be a much better choice. As far as I know though it is only being used on warehouse vehicles that go really slow.

Compressed air is one of the safer compressed gas mixtures. Many gases are compressed for industrial and health care use.

So it would be safe to use as fuel then?

I would think so if it was practical.

depends on how compressed it is and how strong the tank is. It's potential energy. If it's released slowly, it's fine. All at once, it's a bomb.

So in crash there is a potential explosion?

Whoosh .....................................................................WHAP

Check this out...

http://www.teslamotors.com/models/index.php

Damn I would like one of those! Or these... http://www.teslamotors.com/

Potential for one yes. Guaranteed no, but never the less the potential is there. Think of these tanks like balloons sugar. When you blow up a balloon, you are forcing gas (your minty fresh breath, air) into a confined space, hence pressurizing the interior of the balloon while the outside normal air pressure remains relatively constant. The balloon will hold that gas and pressure in until it is released somehow. Whether that be a slow steady leak, or a big stomp on it (i.e. car crash), both jeopardize the structural integrity of the balloon and can result in a very sudden release of that stored pressure (the explosion). The pressurized gas is released so violently because gases expand to fill whatever container they are placed into, and the air pressure surrounding the balloon is much lower than what is inside the balloon, thus the compressed gases are constantly "trying" equalize with the outside pressure and will do so quickly when the high pressure gases are exposed to a lower pressure environment.

dang get a baggy, I think it's dead.

Addison Bain's theory about the Iron oxide, aluminum, and cellulose nitrate coating on the skin causing the fire doesn't jibe with the eywitness or newsreel accounts. For one thing it wasn't cellulose nitrate, it was really cellulose acetate butyrate which will burn but is not flammable. Although Bain cause a sensation when he proposed his theory, it has not stood up to peer review as conclusive.

I've seen the aftermath of a mere 300psi air tank that failed and flattened a cement block building.

Damn.