On 4/27/06, Peter wrote: > > How about crushing a gas tank ? Or a propane bottle ? The fuel must mix with air (oxygen) before it becomes flammable. You can crush a fuel tank, and even puncture it with bullets and it will rarely ignite without another source of energy. An episode of mythbusters (I know, not scientific, but useful data nonetheless) even shot many tracer bullets (phosphorous tipped) through a fuel tank before it finally lit on fire - no explosion, no jets of flame, just a fire. This was, of course, after riddling the gas tank with a variety of other sized rounds. > How does emergency personnel safely unload the fuel (gas) from a crashed > vehicle ? (they don't). I think that this must be seen in perspective. The act of cutting open a car with a hydraulic cutter will not cause sparking or welding to occur when it cuts through a gas line. Cutting through primary battery cables while still live poses a much greater threat to rescue workers than a spray of fuel. Lastly, gas is dangerous, but rescue workers are familiar with the risks, and can safely follow a standard procedure for dealing with vehicle accidents right now. I'm simply pointing out that electric vehicles will require a different set of procedures and perhaps even modifications to equipment used at accident scenes. This is a barrier for electric cars. Perhaps it's not a big barrier, but it's one of the top two that I've seen in discussions concerning electric cars. -Adam -- http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist