[Gasification] Fwd: For Your Safety from Shell Oil Company - THIS IS NOT A JOKE! Clash of technologies.

[Henri Naths]

Thanks for your post Craig 
This augments my rambling. Winning the lottery and getting hit by lightning have the same odds unfortunately. Risks are an acceptable fact of life. (Unavoidable for lightning apparently). What is avoidable is causing a fire while refueling. That risk is avoidable because the consequences are unacceptable. I don't care if the odds are a billion to one it won't happen with a cell phone or iPad. That risk is avoidable is all I'm saying. Like using your cell phone on an airplane. The odds of any interference or malfunction are very high but nevertheless the risk is avoidable because the consequences are unacceptable. Safety first. 
Here in Canada the gas pumps do not have a fume return. The reason being the ambient temperature is 15 c. The temperature has been known to reach 50 c in some parts. Still an acceptable risk for the oil companies. A government weights and measures agent just told me that while I was refueling my vw jetta diesel. Das auto. Acceptable risk. Cell phone iPads and such have been know to catch fire. Unavoidable risk  What are the odds it will happen when you are refueling. That risk is avoidable. 
Sent from my iPhone

On 2012-03-19, at 11:59 AM, Craig Kernan <craig at postcollapse.org> wrote:

> Almost any complex device using electricity can have or develop faults that produce sparks or high local temperature capable of igniting gasoline vapors in air. Some designs and manufacturing processes will make this very unlikely, others less so.
> 
> Demonstrations make good PR but don't prove the impossibility or establish the chances of things happening for other equipment or conditions.
> 
> If you want to have high confidence that it won't happen offer a well advertised $1000 prize for anyone who can show how to make it happen.
> 
> However two thing make such events unlikely even for bad designs
> 
> 1.  In most such failures the device would fail before it happening at a gas pump.
> 
> 2.  Most failures would be adequately isolated from the gasses by the case.
> 
> Recent physical damage could, however, make both these untrue.
> 
> If doors are opened then one must also consider conditions of chargers, the connections, and phone being charging which are more likely to be sources of ignition.
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> craig
> 
> On 3/19/2012 2:58 AM, Ronald Hongsermeier wrote:
>> Dear Henri,
>> 
>> Please carefully read the articles at snopes.com
>> 
>> What you are talking about is an urban legend. If someone cannot under experimental conditions where they are actually trying to ignite gasoline with a cell phone succeed in this attempt, why does the error persist that you can do it by mistake?
>> 
>> http://www.snopes.com/autos/hazards/gasvapor.asp
>>