PV=nRT

[steuard]

A few minutes ago, Kim and I heard a pop and then a brief but loud hissing sound coming from... somewhere. We looked around the apartment, but we couldn't figure out what it had been. I finally thought to look outside, and sure enough the back tire on my bike is now completely flat.

All I can figure is that it's 100 degrees today and the sun has been beating down on the black bike tires since early afternoon. Between the increased pressure of the hot air inside and the heat acting on the rubber itself, I guess a patch must have failed. I'm just glad I wasn't riding at the time!

(And now I want to know "Which patch?" and "How could I have avoided this?", but we're too busy getting ready to move for me to figure it out right now.)

Comments

[jon-leonard.livejournal.com]

We also had a heat-related failure: Our garage-door opener stopped working. On careful inspection, it turned out to be because the battery had exploded. I presume the mechanism is similiar.