Can a match lit behind a cow after she farts cause an explosion?

the methane....

Well, it will burn, Mythbusters proved that farts will burn. But an explosion? Well, sort of. But even with a cow, I don't think it would be anything major, though you might burn your hand hairs, kind of like a mini fuel/air explosion, emphesis on 'mini'.

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It is highly likely that the composition of cow intestinal gas falls within the range of flammability of methane. Methane will burn when it comprises 5%-15% of air. Human intestinal gas comprises methane from 0%-10%. Even if the cow's gas was 100% methane, it would mix at the edges and burn when it was sufficiently diluted. When it burns, it will burn with a yellow blue flame and may make a whooshing sound.

You should find a cow and hold a lighter right up under its tail for awhile and see what happens.

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Bill Slugg
Albany, GA

Well, not exactly. I raise steers and it is not the rear that exudes the methane. When they chew their cud they are bringing partially digested organic matter back up for further mastication. The grass and grain has partially fermented and they burp methane. What comes out the back end smells like, well, cow poo.

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(By the way, I hate it that so many papers in the areas of planetary science and geology are not easily avaiable to the dreaded "non-subscribers". It is like they are screaming at me: "YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH". Good, I feel better now.)

I know you are a person who takes his physics seriously, but isn't it said that most great discoveries aren't discovered with "Eureka!" but with, "Hmmm, that's funny." Big Don

You will all but surely get hicked (perhaps fatal) by the cow if you follow this advice.
Methane has no oder. It is trace impurities that smell. Neil

Even better, (fire breathing cows, how do you GET more awesome?!) though if you find a cow with burned lips, you now know who to blame.

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We don't allow any open flames in the barn and we keep it well ventilated.

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(By the way, I hate it that so many papers in the areas of planetary science and geology are not easily avaiable to the dreaded "non-subscribers". It is like they are screaming at me: "YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH". Good, I feel better now.)

I know you are a person who takes his physics seriously, but isn't it said that most great discoveries aren't discovered with "Eureka!" but with, "Hmmm, that's funny." Big Don

I was thinking of it being in an open field, but I guess cows don't live in feilds anymore, huh?

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Make sure you know the difference between a cow and a bull before holding a lighter under a bovine's tail.

Oh yes they do. In fact we are actively working to increase pasturage. Have you checked the price of corn and fertilizer lately? When we release them into a new area they will clean it out, fertilize it, and aerate the soil. We also incorporate free range chickens who disperse the piles of fertilizer for faster absorption into the soil, clean up of dropped seeds, and emplacement of further processed fertilizer.

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(By the way, I hate it that so many papers in the areas of planetary science and geology are not easily avaiable to the dreaded "non-subscribers". It is like they are screaming at me: "YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH". Good, I feel better now.)

I know you are a person who takes his physics seriously, but isn't it said that most great discoveries aren't discovered with "Eureka!" but with, "Hmmm, that's funny." Big Don

Human flatulence can be ignited. I have not attempted this myself, but I have witnessed it. (It's amazing what male college freshmen will do! )

Please, whatever you do, don't try this at home!

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Microsoft is over if you want it.

The bar has been lowered for the promotion of ATM ideas; the bar for the acceptance of ATM ideas must remain high.

What's needed 'redshift? About an acre per cow?

Thanks for clearing that up .

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More, I grow mine for what my customers think they want and the hard part is getting the fat vs muscle ratio just right while maximizing bulk. I sell it by the pound, more pounds, more bucks. In dry years there has to be extra acreage because grass production goes down. An all grass diet and a dry year can lead to meat that is too lean and not as tasty. There are other factors such as genetic predisposition that can affect the outcome; in dry years we have to supplement with more grain. As to walking behind a cow, bad idea, they will kick to remove flies or because a stick brushed them, not necessarily because your there. I have also lost a couple chickens because of accidentally being stepped on and one got launched when it was in the path of a kick.

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(By the way, I hate it that so many papers in the areas of planetary science and geology are not easily avaiable to the dreaded "non-subscribers". It is like they are screaming at me: "YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH". Good, I feel better now.)

I know you are a person who takes his physics seriously, but isn't it said that most great discoveries aren't discovered with "Eureka!" but with, "Hmmm, that's funny." Big Don

we (well, my mom's fiance- i just live here and help fix stuff when it breaks) raise free range beef cows. there are around 30 females and one bull. every spring, we have about 30 little cows running around, as well. the young'uns get sold off in the late fall sometime to be made into hamburgers and steaks.
they get to roam around on about 50 acres of pasture all year long. in the winter, they get fed hay bales from about another 50 acres of hay field. they never get to eat any corn or wheat or anything- but in the late summer, when the part (20 acres or so) of their pasture that gets planted with wheat gets harvested, they get let back into that area to graze. they always actually look happy when he lets them in there, what with all the leftovers that get dropped when the wheat is harvested.
so, all told, it takes about 100 acres of field to feed those cows every year.
as far as domesticated cows go, they have a pretty good life- they have lake to swim in, a river to cross, a pond, two different woods, and a bunch of open grassland to graze on. and when the weather gets too extreme for them, they retreat to the lean-to that has a water fountain and an electric light to keep them company at night.

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"blacker than the blackest black... times infinity."- Nathan Explosion
The.. Best.. Thread..Ever...

Hey, I'll relate a bovine related incident I saw once at the Ren Fair up in Walnut Creek. I'll put it in its own thread as its rather long. I thought most here would fail to see the drama.

Cool. See you in a bit then. (Coffees ready)

Edit to add: In Babbling of course.

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Gimme a minute to read through Jay's latest observations...

I don't live on a farm but living in Ohio one is never far from one. I spent plently of time in pastures thanks to my wife and daughter's love of horses and I've felt safer in the horse pasture than the several cow pastures I've been in. The cows I've encountered were aggressive and if there were young ones around, they could be downright dangerous, at least with a stranger like me. (Guess I look too predator-like to them).

Definitely, I would never advocate trying to hold up a cow's tail while flicking a lighter.

I wouldn't advise grabbing the tail for any reason!!!

Let's see, thousand pound cow, two hundred pound person and a good grip, the cow spins around and the person.........

Let's just say they will experience an rotational acceleration.

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(By the way, I hate it that so many papers in the areas of planetary science and geology are not easily avaiable to the dreaded "non-subscribers". It is like they are screaming at me: "YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH". Good, I feel better now.)

I know you are a person who takes his physics seriously, but isn't it said that most great discoveries aren't discovered with "Eureka!" but with, "Hmmm, that's funny." Big Don

Thats what i love about this site; always learning facinating science tidbits!