ORIGINAL: wjvail
I've got a 55 gallon drum of 99.97% pure nitro sitting in the driveway. If I pour some in a cup and put a match in it, there is a wooff and then a pretty blue flame.
Well I've never been able to ignite pure nitro in the way you describe.
Dropping lighted matches into a cup partly filled with nitro *always* results in the match going out and no ignition of the liquid.
I believe the vapor pressure is all wrong for it to burn easily when poured into a cup at room temperature and attempts are made to ignite it with a simple flame source.
Perhaps your nitro isn't quite as pure as you've been told it is :-)