Explain the following Bread burns yet flour can form explosive mixtures?

Question

Looking for a good answer

Answer 1

As opposed to what, a bad answer?

There are two basic types of flames: diffusion flames and pre-mixed flames.

In a diffusion flame, you have a chunk of fuel (like a loaf of bread) surrounded by oxygen. Once the surface of the fuel starts burning, the fuel becomes surrounded by its own waste products (water and carbon dioxide) which slow down the burning process. You have to wait until the waste products diffuse away from the fuel, and oxygen diffuses in towards the fuel. This limits the speed of the burn.

In a pre-mixed flame, you have the fuel evenly distributed amongst the oxygen (tiny particles totally surrounded by oxygen). In such a condition, the particles have so little mass that they burn almost instantly, igniting the next particle, and the next, and the next in a chain that expands outward rapidly. You don't have to wait for diffusion, because every part of the fuel already has oxygen right next to it.

A loaf of bread is mainly touching other bread, so it burns slowly. If you throw a bunch of flour in the air, almost all the flour is touching oxygen, so when you accumulate the right flour-air mixture, it can burn very rapidly (loosely termed an explosion).

Answer 2

Wait 1 min are you trying to make a bomb or to do some homework? I don't want to answer this question and turn on CNN or any news channel and find out I was involved.

So here is your answer, Bread will make an explosive as well. Go to your local store and buy all the bread and start throwing it hungy or homless people. Somthing will happen I promise. Either you will be trampled by bums or followed home by 1 or 2.