Movie Physics

Check this site out. It applies real-life physics to common cinematic foibles, with a perfect dorky-satire/cynicism. The movie reviews at the bottom are a delight! I'll need to find a way to work some of this into a physics lab report when I enroll this fall...

Flaming Cars
Ever notice how cars in movies always burst into flames the instant they collide with anything? Our favorite is when a car falling from a high place explodes the instant before it hits the ground. It's as though its gas tank gets panicky and detonates at the mere thought of striking Earth. Fortunately, the physics are not so cooperative. Gasoline has a very narrow flammable range of about 1.4 to 7.6 % gasoline vapor in air. For a car to explode during impact the tank must catastrophically rupture and spew a fine mist of gasoline over a large area so it can vaporize and mix with air in exactly the right proportions. The mixture must then find a source of ignition. Automobile gas tanks are built to withstand a considerable impact force and are usually located in a protected area between the beams of a car's frame. Common ignition sources in the car's engine are generally at the other end of the vehicle.


Take that, suspension of disbelief!