Has a petrol station ever really blown up if somebody used a mobile phone while filling up?

Question

what are the chances of it happening, my husband told me it could explode....was he taking the mikk

Answer 1

It is possible.

Answer 2

It is all hype. A filling station did once blow up, and the pump that blew up was being used by somebody who was on the phone, but it's thought that the phone had nothing to do with it, and was an electrical fault with the car.

The only way a phone could cause an explosion at a petrol station is if it malfunctioned to the point that it created a spark, which for a solid-state device, is improbable. The only thing i can think of is if the user managed to short the battery through the external charging terminals, with say a ring. This would create a spark wich if conditions were right, would cause an explosion of the petroleum vapours.

Virtually impossible though.

Same with mobile phones on planes - it's just hearsay. There have been problems on planes while people have been on the phone. It was intially blamed on the phone, but was found to be something unrelated. Because there was a big question mark over the phone though, they said from there on, no phones on planes! They're planning to let you use them now over Europe!

Answer 3

well it has not happened to me yet! i must keep trying! lol

Answer 4

Brainiac (Science Abuse) tried this. They filled a caravan with petrol and 50 or so mobile phones and rang them all at once. Nothing happened.

They then got a static spark from someone in a shell suit to ignite the lot. They weren't on the phone, nor did they have a phone on them.

Answer 5

J#^%$ C%$&%$%!   iT IS ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS THAT SOMEONE CAN'T GET OFF THE PHONE LONG ENOUGH TO PUMP SOME GAS????

Yes, it has happened, and it can happen. You have no idea how little of a spark it takes to ignite gasoline vapor.

Answer 6

Their is very little chance that it would blow up,the phones interfere with the cash register.

Answer 7

yes it happened a year or so back

Answer 8

There has been a lot of experiments on what will blow up a fuel tank, and the only one that worked was a static silk dress that brushed up against one.

Funny, I know.

Answer 9

Not to present date there have not been any incidents of this...................

Answer 10

I've not heard of one.

Apparently the static from amobile can cause a spark.

If that's the case what about the static from tights? Perhaps they should ban all ladies wearing tights also.

Answer 11

hahahaha i always wonder if one has blown up. when i saw the thing on the wall to tell you to turn mobiles off i was bawling over with laugher...i mean come on, does anyone ACTUALLY turn it off lmao

xx

Answer 12

It's never happened, and is never likely to. Both Brainiac and Mythbusters have done experiements which show it won't happen. But it's a good precaution to take I guess - easy to do and better than blowing up a petrol station.

Answer 13

on a program called,mythbusters,they tried,and failed

Answer 14

No there has not been an incident because someone was on the phone.

The original reason they were banned was because of concerns that a loose battery circuit could create a potentially fatal spark.

However as records show this is rare unless you own a laptop!

Answer 15

People discussing this always hacks me off because those who spread the rumour - and debunk it dont have the slightest clue as to the nature of the risk. ITS GOT ZERO TO DO WITH SPARKS. Thats just what some idiots have assumed.

The Risk comes from compression waves caused by the mobile phone signal - and they can potentially ignite Diesel fuel - not gasoline. This is a reason why diesel vehicles cannot safely be parked in close proximity to large radar dishes also and Military and civilian defence contractor sites will prevent this for that reason.

Its not a giant risk due to the signal strength involved - but it is a risk.

Static electricity generated by yourself is much more likely to cause ignition especially in particularly arid conditions.

Myth busters has a lot to answer for - they need to do a bit more homework

Answer 16

It won't happen.BRAINIAC tried it with 100 phones in a caravan with petrol poured all over them and nothing happened