Explosion Limits of Hydrogen-Oxygen Mixture as a Stochastic Phenomenon

The fluctuation in the induction period of ignition as well as the randomness of the ignition position in a hydrogen-oxygen mixture behind reflected shock waves was statistically investigated. It was proved that ignition is a stochastic phenomenon by comparing the ignition probability of the mixture obtained from a histogram of the induction period and that obtained from a histogram of the ignition position. The explosion limits of the hydrogen-oxygen mixture, the so-called explosion peninsula, was explained by the stochastic theory in which the mixture has a certain constant ignition probability.