WEBVTT - Can a Cell Phone Make a Gas Pump Explode?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeart Radio. Hey, brain Stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>Lauren Vogel bomb Here. For the purposes of this episode,

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<v Speaker 1>we're going to work from the assumption that you don't

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<v Speaker 1>want to cause an explosion or a fire at a

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<v Speaker 1>gas station, sending the whole structure and all of its

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<v Speaker 1>patrons up in a cloud of smoke, lottery tickets, and funyans. So,

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<v Speaker 1>if you don't want to cause an explosion or start

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<v Speaker 1>a fire at a gas station, should you keep your

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<v Speaker 1>trusty cell phone holstered? Not particularly. Although some gas stations

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<v Speaker 1>have posted warnings against cell phone use and urban legends

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<v Speaker 1>recount fires started by cell phones at gas tanks, there

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<v Speaker 1>has been no documented case of a cellphone starting a

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<v Speaker 1>fire at a gas station. In fact, researchers such as

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<v Speaker 1>the MythBusters have actively tried and failed to use cell

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<v Speaker 1>phones to start gas pump fires. But what started the

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<v Speaker 1>idea cellphones and gas pumps don't mix. One culprit could

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<v Speaker 1>be the little shock of static electricity you get when

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<v Speaker 1>you shuffle across the carpet and then touch something metallic

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<v Speaker 1>or when you get out of your car. An electrical

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<v Speaker 1>charge can build up in a material when it rubs

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<v Speaker 1>against another material. While they both start with balanced amounts

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<v Speaker 1>of negatively and positively charged electrons, one material can steal

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<v Speaker 1>negatively charged electrons from the other. When those negatively charged

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<v Speaker 1>electrons don't have anywhere to go, they can build up

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<v Speaker 1>in that one material. That's called a static charge because

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<v Speaker 1>while it will hold in place for a time in

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<v Speaker 1>attempting to get back to its normal balance, the material

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<v Speaker 1>will discharge those spare electrons at the first chance it gets.

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<v Speaker 1>That is, as soon as it comes near a conducive

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<v Speaker 1>material like metal, The electricity will arc from your fingertips

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<v Speaker 1>to the metal, giving you a small shock. While cell

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<v Speaker 1>phones have not been shown to ignite fires at gas stations,

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<v Speaker 1>static electricity has. When you gas up your car, even

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<v Speaker 1>if you don't spill a single drop gasoline, vapors still

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<v Speaker 1>hang out around the pump nozzle, including when it's inserted

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<v Speaker 1>in your gas tank. Those vapors can be ignited by

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<v Speaker 1>static electricity. Once they're ignited, the fire travels wherever the

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<v Speaker 1>gas is inside the pump, inside the car's fuel tank,

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<v Speaker 1>and the next thing you know, there's a big boom

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<v Speaker 1>and you have a lot of explaining to do to

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<v Speaker 1>your insurance company, and you're not safe from static electricity

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<v Speaker 1>just because most gas stations are short on shag carpets.

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<v Speaker 1>If you start the fuel pump then get back into

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<v Speaker 1>your car for some reason, and then get back out

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<v Speaker 1>to return the nozzle to the pump, the motion of

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<v Speaker 1>your clothes against each other and against the material of

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<v Speaker 1>your car seat and interioror carpet might have charged you

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<v Speaker 1>up enough to ignite those gasoline fumes. One study found

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<v Speaker 1>charges of up to sixty volts on people who had

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<v Speaker 1>gotten in and out of their cars while refueling. So

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<v Speaker 1>even though your cell phone itself is not going to

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<v Speaker 1>set off a fire at the gas station, you definitely

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<v Speaker 1>should not go back into your car to retrieve it

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<v Speaker 1>while you fill up. And it's probably in your best

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<v Speaker 1>interests to pay attention to the gasoline instead of your

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<v Speaker 1>phone while you're pumping. After all, any situation with moving

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<v Speaker 1>vehicles and flowing combustion fuel deserves your full attention. Gas

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<v Speaker 1>stations have lots of safety features, but it's always good

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<v Speaker 1>to play at safe. Today's episode was written by Jamie

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<v Speaker 1>Page Deaton and produced by Tyler clang Or. More on

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<v Speaker 1>this and lots of other flowing topics. Visit how stuffworks

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<v Speaker 1>dot com. Brain Stuff is production of I heart Radio.

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