If you pour this next to a gas stove, it will explode

Now many families have gas stoves, cooking is convenient and quick, but do you know a common sense? That is, you can't put one thing next to the gas stove, otherwise it will be dangerous. Let's take a look!

Recently, CCTV anchor Zhang Quanling posted a Weibo reminder, "Don't pour flour bags next to a burning gas stove. This is the most likely hidden danger of dust explosion in the home," which sparked discussion. Industry experts said that such a risk does exist in theory, but in reality, the probability of such a situation causing an explosion is very small.

Qian Xinming, director of the Explosion Safety Research Department of the State Key Laboratory of Explosion Science and Technology at Beijing Institute of Technology, introduced that when tiny dust particles with explosive properties diffuse into the air and accumulate to a certain concentration, deflagration may occur as long as there is an ignition source. If it happens in a confined space, it is likely to cause an explosion.

Professor Qian Xinming once conducted a popular science experiment in which he put flour into a specific sealed container, lit a candle, and blew air to lift up the flour, instantly creating a fireball. Qian Xinming explained that this is because the starch in flour is a carbohydrate and a flammable substance. Starch particles are small. Once they are suspended in the air, the surface of the particles is in full contact with the air. If they encounter open flames in a relatively closed space and reach the lower limit of explosion concentration, an explosion will occur.

This is true in theory, but there are not many incidents of dust explosions in residents' daily lives. A production safety researcher in Zhejiang Province pointed out that this is because a dust explosion requires three conditions to be met at the same time - dust reaching a certain concentration, a relatively confined space and an open flame. However, most kitchens are not enclosed spaces, and the amount of dust raised when pouring flour is not very large. If you really shake the flour above the gas stove, it will only make a "bang bang" sound or the flame of burning flour.

Although an explosion may not necessarily occur, it does not mean that pouring flour near the stove is safe. After all, the stove temperature is very high, and shaking the flour bag will cause the risk of instant ignition. Especially when the flour is suspended in a "smoky" state, you must not turn on the fire. In addition to flour, cocoa powder, sawdust powder, plastic powder, leather powder, etc. are all combustible dusts. Therefore, we remind you to stay away from open flames when using dusty materials such as flour at home.