In today's New York Times, Matthew Wald writes, "Nelson Jobim, the Brazilian defense minister, said late Wednesday that the presence of the fuel slick 'could exclude the possibility of a fire or explosion' because, in those circumstances, high-octane aviation fuel would have ignited, leaving no slick, news services reported. 'If we have oil stains, it means it wasn’t burned,' he said, according to Reuters."
There is no 'high-octane' aviation fuel involved here. Octane ratings measure a fuel's ability to resist detonation under compression. They are not a measure of general flammability. Such ratings are useful only in the context of a piston engine, and jet engines have no pistons. Jet fuel is pure kerosene. It has an octane rating of about 20.
The job of Brazilian defense minister cannot possibly come with a lot of headaches. If this incident turns out to involve foul play, that will change in a hurry. It is the opinion of the Man-Bunny Matrix that Nelson Jobim may exist today in a delusory trance of hopeful thinking.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
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