User:Arnout aka The Emperors Angel/Explosion, or Fireball?

Explosions are now part of our daily lives. We see them in games, comics, movies and TV-Shows. But there is a fundamental flaw in the idea that people have of explosions. I will try and explain what the difference is between a fireball (which is what you usually see on TV), and an explosion.

The gas canister you describe does not explode, at least, not the way you describe it. It will produce a fireball; which might get sucked back into the container, causing the rest of the  container to violently burst, with another fireball. To add to the general confusion I just caused, explosions on the telly are fake. You must understand that there is a difference between a FIREBALL and a EXPLOSION. For a gas container to EXPLODE, there must be the right conditions, in this case, the right ratio of oxygen and gas molecules inside the container. Furthermore, EXPLOSIONS, are not FIREBAllS. EXPLOSIONS are nothing more than a substance rapidly converting itself into gasses, which generates heat. The conversion part is the explosion (it’s also this part that kills you, or throws you to the ground). The generated heat MIGHT cause a fireball, if sufficient oxygen is available.