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static sparks

Subject: static sparks
From: Graham Singleton <grasingleton@avnet.co.uk>
Date: Tue, 17 Dec 2002 19:07:12

Evening All,
I thought this might be of interest, it came up on the canard forum. 
Interesting what he says about metal cans. Sounds logical to me too
Graham

NOT PROPER TERMINOLOGY
Please stop throwing around the words "Plastic Can". If the container is an
approved plastic type container it is NOT the type of plastic you would get
for say food storage. The container does have a CONDUCTIVE nature to it that
is there to drain/bleed off static charges.
That does not mean a spark, a match or a dumb idiot with a cigarette will not
cause the gas to ignite.
Will a Static Spark cause the gas to ignite even if it were in a steel can?
YES!
A steel can is even MORE susceptible to SPARKING. Do you know why? Because
it does NOT Drain/Bleed off the static, it COLLECTS the charge in ONE LARGE
DISCHARGE.
Remember Ohm's Law, if the Resistance decreases the current will increase and
since Static is NOT a fixed voltage if the resistance decreases and the spark
gap remainds the same the Voltage will increase. It is the Voltage that
bridges the gap and it is the voltage that when added to the fule/air mixture
things go boom!
For those so prone to follow their OLD military ways... Have you checked to
see what the military is using today? PLASTIC... Conductive Plastic!
For as much as you try to teach, and Yes, even litigate you cannot make
everyone safe. There is not enough pen & ink in the world to do that. There
is such a thing as the Darwin Awards, maybe it is the Law of Nature fighting
back against litigation and redundant emails to insure only future
generations that use their God given gray mater will survive.
I'm sure we ALL can agree that sparks, matches or a dumb idiot with a
cigarette, can and will ignite gas and start forest fires. But lets STOP
with the Flagrant use of the word Plastic. Pay attention to the Proper
Fueling Procedures. Even fuel pumps have rubber hoses ... Conductive Rubber
hoses.
For the fun of it check out the term ESD and ESD Procedures.
(Electro-Static Discharge)

Barry



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