Flare goes off at soundwave, everyone goes nuts

[fireheart17]

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/b...-1226584663367

To clarify, Soundwave is a music festival. We seem to get like 20 of them a year now I swear (this one is a more generic music festival, we also have Future Music, which handles dance/electro type stuff, Big Day Out which handles your generic rock/indie bands and a metal festival who's name escapes me...)

Basically, some idiot decided to let a flare off during a performance. Which ended up injuring a few people and almost severely injuring others.

What a

To top it off, the flare was a magnesium flare. From what I remember, igniting magnesium can blind or disorient others (My year 8 Science Teacher would ignite magnesium in our science class and warned us to look away)

[Greenday]

Lighting magnesium on fire is an extremely bright reaction. Which of course makes it great for a flare, but not something you should look at from a close distance. The temperatures burning magnesium can reach are extremely hot and could cause a lot of damage if you are in contact with it for an extended period of time.

If they somehow figure out who did it, they should arrest the person and charge them with assault.

[fireheart17]

From my understanding, the organiser managed to get photos. So they are working on it.

[Tanasi]

Another problem with magnesium is once it's lit you can't put it out. That stuff will even burn under water.

[Nyoibo]

I thought that was phosphorus.

[Kagato]

Magnesium continues to burn underwater. Phosphorous, particularly white phosphorous, will spontaneously combust when removed from an aquatic medium (white phosphorous is generally transported in water, when removed it will smoke and splatter, spontaneously combusting and causing deep second or third degree burns. This made it an extremely potent ingredient for mortar shells, bombs, rockets and grenades during World War II /sciencelesson

Unless I'm mistaken, in some places using an emergency flare in a situation where there is not a genuine emergency is a criminal offense.

[daleduke17]

I thought that was phosphorus.

Phosphorus will burn when exposed to oxygen (phosphorus ammunition rounds), magnesium and sodium ignite when exposed to water.

[Greenday]

Phosphorus will burn when exposed to oxygen (phosphorus ammunition rounds), magnesium and sodium ignite when exposed to water.

Magnesium will not ignite when exposed to water.

Sodium will. Potassium will.

[fireheart17]

It didn't show up in this article, but in another article that I read, someone started wondering why the sale of flares aren't restricted/banned.
My response to that was something along the lines of that flares aren't just used on boats and having a license of some sort does not mean that someone is necessarily going to use flares for that purpose.

[Greenday]

It didn't show up in this article, but in another article that I read, someone started wondering why the sale of flares aren't restricted/banned.
My response to that was something along the lines of that flares aren't just used on boats and having a license of some sort does not mean that someone is necessarily going to use flares for that purpose.

Road flares? Flares for boats? Flares for props?

It'd be silly to restrict this.

[lordlundar]

Magnesium will not ignite when exposed to water.

Sodium will. Potassium will.

Very true.

Magnesium does require it being lit first, but when lit requires a special formula to smother it as it can extract oxygen from conventional means and burn off it. Putting lit magnesium in a vat of water is a BAD idea.

And considering the human body is approx 76% water, getting hit by lit magnesium REALLY hurts.

[daleduke17]

Very true.

Magnesium does require it being lit first, but when lit requires a special formula to smother it as it can extract oxygen from conventional means and burn off it. Putting lit magnesium in a vat of water is a BAD idea.

And considering the human body is approx 76% water, getting hit by lit magnesium REALLY hurts.

Thanks for the clarification on magnesium. I just remember from training not to use water on magnesium due to the "OH FUCK" situation it causes.

[SongsOfDragons]

For a fic that involved fighting werewolves, I did some research into silver nitrate to see why werewolf-variant stories like Underworld used it. Turns out it's quite appropriate, having been called lunar caustic before and having an effect of staining skin black. It looks like water rather than mercury, though.

During this research I found two other silver compounds: silver azide and fulminate. I read the description and giggled. Chemist friend of mine, when jokingly asked if they'd make good werewolf weapons, went "are you mad? That's more likely to kill YOU than the werewolf! They blow up if even a feather touches them..."

[fireheart17]

Road flares? Flares for boats? Flares for props?

It'd be silly to restrict this.

It was more the sale of them. Someone could easily walk into a boating/camping store and claim that they needed flares for a 5-day hiking trip or boating trip, then turn around and use them illegally.

I've seen flares in action before (when my parents were covering a boating and camping event).

[Greenday]

It was more the sale of them. Someone could easily walk into a boating/camping store and claim that they needed flares for a 5-day hiking trip or boating trip, then turn around and use them illegally.

I've seen flares in action before (when my parents were covering a boating and camping event).

You can't not sell flares just because someone might do something stupid with them. What about nail guns? Maybe I have a huge construction job to accomplish. But someone could just as easily go around shooting people with nails.

Knee-jerk reactions to these kind of incidences are never well thought out.