Naked Science Forum

On the Lighter Side => That CAN'T be true! => Topic started by: thedoc on 13/12/2016 00:53:01

Title: Could static electricity cause a fire?
Post by: thedoc on 13/12/2016 00:53:01

Sereen asked the Naked Scientists:
   
The other day I was sleeping and I woke up. I had turned around and rubbed my hands across my sheets when suddenly I had noticed white sparks come out. Could this possibly cause a fire?

What do you think?

Title: Re: Could static electricity cause a fire?
Post by: alancalverd on 13/12/2016 14:37:57

You would find it difficult to set fire to your bedding, but given a sufficiently flammable material, plenty of oxygen, and a big enough spark, static electricity will indeed cause conflgration. The best examples are forests set on firfe by lightning and huge dust explosions in flour mills, ships' hulls and woodwork shops. We attach an earthing lead to an aeroplane before refuelling it because planes can land with a significant static charge that will spark across to the fuel nozzle. It's less of a problem with cars because the charge is smaller and continuously dissipated through the large conductive tyres, but planes have proportionally much smaller tyres and a bigger static charge acquired at altitude, and may not discharge onto dry concrete. 

Title: Re: Could static electricity cause a fire?
Post by: chiralSPO on 13/12/2016 19:50:13

Yes, discharge of static electricity can start fires. This is essentially what a spark plug does in a combustion engine. I wouldn't worry about catching your blankets on fire, but as alancalverd pointed out, flammable vapors can be ignited by a spark. The room that we store our flammable solvents in is well grounded in several places to prevent the buildup of charge.