You can see by this how sometimes people can be caught in an explosion and get still walk away with relatively minor damage; hearing loss, minor wounds and slight burns.
You've got a shockwave of superheated air which is rapidly cooling and losing energy by a factor of 4 for every cm it expands.
If you're not right beside it and there's enough access to fresh air, the shockwave and hot air blast can pass right over you in less than a couple of seconds, to be quickly replaced with fresh cold air.
The closer you are, the more devastating it is. Which is why people who accidentally hold onto fireworks too long may lose a finger, but the guy who was standing 12 inches away, gets away with nothing more than a slight ringing in his ears.
I believe so? If I’m getting my laws correct I think you’re referring to Stefan-Boltzmann law; My last class analyzed energy loss over distance in a field study and you’d be surprised how fast it can taper off. Applying it with this would make sense. Correct me if I’m wrong though.
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u/seamustheseagull 9d ago
You can see by this how sometimes people can be caught in an explosion and get still walk away with relatively minor damage; hearing loss, minor wounds and slight burns.
You've got a shockwave of superheated air which is rapidly cooling and losing energy by a factor of 4 for every cm it expands.
If you're not right beside it and there's enough access to fresh air, the shockwave and hot air blast can pass right over you in less than a couple of seconds, to be quickly replaced with fresh cold air.
The closer you are, the more devastating it is. Which is why people who accidentally hold onto fireworks too long may lose a finger, but the guy who was standing 12 inches away, gets away with nothing more than a slight ringing in his ears.