You bet this can happen. Learned the hard way not to set a crystal ball on flammable material in direct sunlight.
On Thursday, July 18, 2019, brucedp5 via EV <ev@lists.evdl.org> wrote: > > > http://www.fox2detroit.com/news/local-news/warning- > leaving-bottled-water-in-your-car-could-start-a-fire > Warning: Leaving bottled water in your car could start a fire > Jul 18 2019 > > [image > https://media.fox2detroit.com/media.fox2detroit.com/photo/ > 2019/07/18/wjbk-water%20in%20hot%20car%20fire-071819_ > 1563465756501.jpg_7531965_ver1.0_1280_720.jpg > Plastic Water Bottle > ] > > (FOX 2) - With overbearing heat mounting in SE Michigan, this is a friendly > reminder that leaving your water bottles in your car on a hot day can start > a fire inside your car - if the conditions are right. > > On a hot, summer day - like we're experiencing right now - a full plastic > bottle of water can act like a lens, focusing light into a high-energy beam > that's intense enough to start a fire. Much like holding a magnifying glass > on a sunny day can start a fire, the filled bottle of water does the same > thing. > > In 2017, a power company in Idaho shared a video of a water bottle burning > two holes into a seat of a car. A technician was sitting in his truck when > he noticed his leather seat was starting to smoke. > > Sunlight through the disposable water bottle torched the cushion, which he > tested with a heat gun. It was 213 degrees Fahrenheit. > > But it doesn't have to be just in a car to start a fire. The Midwest City, > Oklahoma, Fire Department held a bottle of water in front a piece of paper > and, sure enough, it burned a hole straight through the paper. > > If you're driving, no need to worry about that water on the seat next to > you. The Midwest City Fire Department said, because you're going under > bridges and passing buildings and the sun is moving, the sunlight's energy > is not in direct contact with the bottle. > > LiveScience.com proved this IS possible just not very likely. According to > a > chemist at the Getty Conservation Institute, when sunlight passes through > the car window, it hits the seat with the same amount of energy as a small > electric space heater. > > When you add the water bottle in, that energy is focused enough that it can > easily heat up the material to heat the seat up. However, the scientist > said > that seats are designed to be fire-retardant and self-extinguishing. thus > your car seat is more likely just have a burned hole in it than to actually > catch fire. > > So while, yes, it scientifically IS possible for a bottle of water to start > a fire in your car, it must be lined up perfectly: clear liquid in a round > bottle placed at just the right angle from the light source and a flammable > material. > > Yes, you technically CAN start a fire with a full bottle of water in your > car, just don't leave papers, napkins, or anything flammable under it and > your car will be mostly in one piece. > [© fox2detroit.com] > ... > https://www.google.com/search?q=bottled+water+car+fire > search bottled water car fire > > > > > For EVLN EV-newswire posts use: > http://evdl.org/archive/ > > > {brucedp.neocities.org} > > -- > Sent from: http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/ > _______________________________________________ > UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub > http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org > Please discuss EV drag racing at NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/ > group/NEDRA) > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://lists.evdl.org/private.cgi/ev-evdl.org/attachments/20190720/2b6129dc/attachment.html> _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org Please discuss EV drag racing at NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
