Science Questions

Could nylon create sparks?

Should there be a sign at fuel stations about soccer (football) shirts causing sparks? I seen the sparks from the shirt but never seen sparks caused by a moblie phone etc. We have signs about phones etc. at the fuel station. Is there more potential to start a fire from a shirt then a phone? Andy Munro, Australia

It’s true that nylon football shirts will cause a spark, as will nylon underwear!  
The theory with mobile phones is that they emitt microwaves, which can interact with metal to induce a current and then possibly create a spark.  We’re not sure this has ever been demonstrated with mobile phones, but we’ve all seen sparks from nylon clothes.

As to the likelyhood of a phone causing a fire compared to a nylon shirt causing a fire, we dont know!

So maybe we should ban nylon clothes at petrol stations!

June 2007