We have seen a lot of science fiction movies. When a spaceship has a catastrophic accident in space, such as a crash or collision, what you see may be familiar images: a big explosion, a spreading fireball, flying debris. The spaceship disintegrated, and then a pile of scrap copper and rotten iron remained. But could such a powerful explosion really happen in space?
In most cases, the answer is no, space is a vacuum, without an oxidizing agent, it is very difficult to cause large-scale explosions and fires.
As part of Project Apollo, NASA previously conducted an experiment in which self-igniting rocket fuel was combined in a vacuum chamber, which spontaneously ignited when the fuel and oxidant came into contact without the ignition device. However, combustion occurs only at the edge of the two components, and the intensity of combustion is greatly reduced. If you are in a zero gravity environment, combustion efficiency will be even lower, as the gas generated by combustion will sequester the reactants and repel them.
Without an oxidizing agent, it is very difficult to explode in a vacuum.
Another example that actually happened is the Apollo 13 crash. In every article, book, and movie, the crash is described as a violent explosion. The actual process was that the insulation in the cabin oxygen tank was destroyed, causing sparks and exploding. The explosive force of the explosion was equivalent to 3 kg of TNT, which destroyed the oxygen tanks, damaging them and causing leaks. In fact, the pressure after the explosion was immediately reduced to zero and no further combustion occurred.
So, if the spaceship collides like in the movies, there will be no explosion, but the hull structure will be badly damaged and debris will be generated. Even if the pressurization compartment ruptures and gas escapes, or the fuel tank bursts, the gas and fuel will expand rapidly, escape into space, and be quickly isolated if no explosion occurs. product.
If the speed of the spacecraft is very fast, it will have higher kinetic energy on impact. Overheated material can sparks or even be heated to melt and evaporate into plasma. In this case, lightning bolts and various fireballs will appear.
But this fireball is not a burning fireball but a plasma resulting from the rapid expansion and cooling of matter. This kind of explosion will not happen like in the movies – ignite, if the director wants to shoot in a real situation, it will be extremely boring, because the image of the flash explosion can be just a flash quickly, and then disappear, the space returning to silence. Whatever the situation, due to the zero gravity environment of space, the flame will not rise.
