I watched this earlier did a little searching.
According to the Utah government, the most intense wildfires burn at up to 1200 degrees Celsius. Aluminum melts slightly above 1200 (edit: aluminum melts at 1200 Fahrenheit, not Celsius. Thanks @inquimous for the correction). Glass melts around 1600 Celsius. So how the fuck did a small grass fire melt windshields, aluminum wheels and engine blocks?
I thought, perhaps a car burning could produce enough heat to do this, but found a test that was done which burned 2 vehicles and the highest recorded temperature was 900 Celsius.
Like most disasters in recent memory, nothing they are telling us makes any sense.
Glass is much more variable as there are so many types, plus thickness is a factor. Most will start to soften at about 1350. Remember glass is technically a very, very viscous liquid and doesn't melt the same way metal does.
https://glassbeast.com/glass-melting-point/
Tempered glass in windshields has a melting point of 1300-1500 F and a lower transition point.
A number of people have tried burning up cars to see what the heat is like. Here's one,
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214157X17301053
but it seems they focus on how hot it is inside the car.
I am sure the burning rubber from tires contributes, again research reporters are fixated on what it takes to set a tire on fire, 750 F, but not what kind of heat they produce. More, presumably, and they are hard to put out because rubber tends to hold heat and re-ignite.
The temperature had to be way higher than the pure meting point because the aluminium was liquefied, not just melted.
Pure aluminium melting point applies to environment where the temperature is the same all around, e.g. in a foundry furnance, which wasn’t the case here.
The temperature of the same 1-2 metres away from the car was lower so the aluminium should reduce its original temperature while moving through the ground (not possible the sand had the same temperature of 1200).
The conclusion is that the original temperature had to be way, way higher for the aluminium to not lose its liquidity and move along cold sand 1-2 meters away.
It isn't pure aluminum. Here's an ordinary family with a firepot cobbled together, using 50 lbs of self-starting BBQ charcoal to melt about 30 lbs. of aluminum scrap and pour it in an anthill. These anthill castings, of which there are hundreds you can see online, demonstrate how easy it is to melt a lot of aluminum, how much it flows, how it can be done without setting everything around on fire.
I watched this earlier did a little searching. According to the Utah government, the most intense wildfires burn at up to 1200 degrees Celsius. Aluminum melts slightly above 1200 (edit: aluminum melts at 1200 Fahrenheit, not Celsius. Thanks @inquimous for the correction). Glass melts around 1600 Celsius. So how the fuck did a small grass fire melt windshields, aluminum wheels and engine blocks? I thought, perhaps a car burning could produce enough heat to do this, but found a test that was done which burned 2 vehicles and the highest recorded temperature was 900 Celsius.
Like most disasters in recent memory, nothing they are telling us makes any sense.
Pure aluminum melts at 1200 F and alloys much less, about 600-700 F. Not Celsius. https://www.onlinemetals.com/en/melting-points
Glass is much more variable as there are so many types, plus thickness is a factor. Most will start to soften at about 1350. Remember glass is technically a very, very viscous liquid and doesn't melt the same way metal does. https://glassbeast.com/glass-melting-point/
Tempered glass in windshields has a melting point of 1300-1500 F and a lower transition point.
https://www.thomasnet.com/articles/plastics-rubber/safety-glass-applications-design/
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempered_glass
A number of people have tried burning up cars to see what the heat is like. Here's one, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214157X17301053 but it seems they focus on how hot it is inside the car. I am sure the burning rubber from tires contributes, again research reporters are fixated on what it takes to set a tire on fire, 750 F, but not what kind of heat they produce. More, presumably, and they are hard to put out because rubber tends to hold heat and re-ignite.
Important to notice:
The temperature had to be way higher than the pure meting point because the aluminium was liquefied, not just melted.
Pure aluminium melting point applies to environment where the temperature is the same all around, e.g. in a foundry furnance, which wasn’t the case here.
The temperature of the same 1-2 metres away from the car was lower so the aluminium should reduce its original temperature while moving through the ground (not possible the sand had the same temperature of 1200).
The conclusion is that the original temperature had to be way, way higher for the aluminium to not lose its liquidity and move along cold sand 1-2 meters away.
It isn't pure aluminum. Here's an ordinary family with a firepot cobbled together, using 50 lbs of self-starting BBQ charcoal to melt about 30 lbs. of aluminum scrap and pour it in an anthill. These anthill castings, of which there are hundreds you can see online, demonstrate how easy it is to melt a lot of aluminum, how much it flows, how it can be done without setting everything around on fire.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBxgb2yYqCU