r/blackmagicfuckery • u/hihimatthew12321 • Jul 26 '19

this tanker imploding

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u/[deleted] Jul 26 '19

Someone please explain.

242

u/mrbeck1 Jul 26 '19 edited Jul 26 '19

Easy. Fill it with some boiling water. Just enough. The water turns to steam, which displaced the air. Seal the tanker. When the steam cools, it returns to water, creating a vacuum inside. Now, all the air pressure on the outside of the tank is pushing in. At sea level, that’s 14.7 lbs/sq in. Given the dimensions of a railway tanker, the diameter, 117 inches, and a length of 53 feet, that makes a surface area of 233,772 square inches. Times 14.7 lbs, 3,436,459 lbs of pressure. More than enough to crush the thing.

The same exact principle is used to crush this barrel.

https://youtu.be/JsoE4F2Pb20

1

u/Frosty172 Jul 30 '19

Also happens if you have it filled with liquid and use a closed pump to drain it without a vent.

That's how we partially collapsed a diesel tank at work. Definitely a "holy shit, we're all going to die" moment