Flare goes off at soundwave, everyone goes nuts

[TheHuckster]

It was more the sale of them. Someone could easily walk into a boating/camping store and claim that they needed flares for a 5-day hiking trip or boating trip, then turn around and use them illegally.

I've seen flares in action before (when my parents were covering a boating and camping event).

So what do you propose should be done to prevent flares from being used illegally? You can't just expect clerks at a camping store to properly profile customers.

[Canarr]

So what do you propose should be done to prevent flares from being used illegally? You can't just expect clerks at a camping store to properly profile customers.

In a situation such as this one - music festival - how about checking backpacks and confiscating the flares?

Restricting the sale of flares would be a pretty bullheaded move; you could cause the same kind of problems with leftover fireworks, after all. And people going on camping or boating trips genuinely need flares in case of emergency; why should they be punished because one guy is an idiot?

Find him, punish him, be done with it.

[fireheart17]

To clarify, I'm not saying that flares SHOULD be banned, my comment earlier was referring to the fact that someone could easily lie and claim otherwise, therefore making said law hard to actually enforce. Restrictions-sure, I'm not 100% sure on this, but I do believe that they already restrict the sale of them to over 18's.

[Tanasi]

Magnesium can be hard to get burning but once it does it burns until it consumes itself. Used to VW engine blocks were made of magnesium as well as other cast parts. This stuff scares the crap out of me.
Sodium will explode when exposed to water, I think it's stored in kerosene.
White Phosphorous is bad news. It's used in artillery shells as anti-personnel or area/material denial. We called it willie-pete, it also will burn under water or until it consumes itself. I've never been burned with it but I've seen some burns and they're terrible. I don't know if it's still used or not. If I'm not mistaken it was used in AAA during WWII before proximity fuses came about.

[s_stabeler]

I'm not sure it matters what kind of oil, to be honest. The point is to exclude oxygen.

[lordlundar]

I'm not sure it matters what kind of oil, to be honest. The point is to exclude oxygen.

Well if the flash point of the oil is below the current heat then the oil will simply supply more fuel. It does have to be a special type of oil that is treated (silicon particles is the most common) to prevent that from happening.

[s_stabeler]

technically it's the ignition point, not the flashpoint. ( flashpoint means you get a flash of flame, ignition point means the item in question actually catches fire.) but yeah, I hadn't thought of that.

[lordlundar]

technically it's the ignition point, not the flashpoint. ( flashpoint means you get a flash of flame, ignition point means the item in question actually catches fire.) but yeah, I hadn't thought of that.

No, I meant flash point. The ignition point is usually lower but it requires the material to be less viscous or there be less volume to ignite. Flash point will ignite regardless.

[s_stabeler]

um, not the way i learned it, way i was taught, ignition was the point at which something would ignite itself.

[Nyoibo]

Yup, the flash point is the lowest temperature at which it can vaporize to form an ignitable mixture in air, but it needs an external ignition source, the autoignition point is the point it catches on fire on its own.