I agree wtih you that's impossible to see, in the video, that the Gas Station employee did with an object in the pocket.

But I saw the interview with Gas Station's manager and the truck's driver and both told to police that this employee tried to answare a celular call. They hear the celular ring and (the driver words) "I turn back to the truck and I saw the guy take the celular..".

This is not authorizate procedure by Brazilian rules but this guy broken this rules and go to top of the truck and try the answare the call. I'm not saying it by my "watch video conclusions" I'm saying it based in the interviews and the police public report about this accident. The police not concluse yet if the celular starts the fire but It's a fact the the employee tried answare a call in top of the truck.

Well then maybe we should say, "Don't drop your cell phone or other electronic device into a petrol tanker filled with fumes."

Bottom line is that there is really no proof that talking on or normal operation of a cell phone caused the explosion.

I did look at the story you posted and it says nothing about a cell phone causing a spark. Good advice is before you post to have your sources in check.

in that unfortunate video lets assume that he did indeed drop a cell phone:

wouldn't it just drop down and sink? why in the world would you attempt to retrieve it as if it floats?

The fire doesn't appear to start until after he has reached down.....is it not possible that he caused a spark?

last....why in the world was he ontop of the tanker? all the times i've seen a tanker at a gas station the take operate from the bottom of the tanker.

OK.. OK.. I give up !

There are a lot of possibilites to this explosion. But one of then is a celular phone. For me there isn't a doubt.

You guys broken the first rule of a cientist "and if". It means that every new information may be check again but you never will control all variables in a laboratory if you don't know all possiblites. There is another video here about this possibility.

My objective here was give one more information about this myth. Maybe what happended here the Mythbusters didn't reproduce in lab, yet. In my opinion all informations about this myth didn't test, for while !

If a normally operating cell phone doesn't ignite gas fumes (as discovered on the episode), perhaps a failed cell phone could? I've seen failed tantalum capacitors shoot a flaming ball across a room. These parts are likely in most cell phones.

quote:

Originally posted by bambutu:

quote:

Static is your greatest risk, not the cell phone. I am not aware of any documented cases where the cell phone actually caused a fire at a gas station. If I am mistaken, please enlighten me.

They stated on the show that there have been NO recorded cases of cell phones starting gas station fires....ever. Since cell phone have been around a LONG time, you would think, if the phone CAN start a fire, it would have happened by now.
The static on the other hand, is WELL documented and has been responsible for fires for years.

I don't think the test was valid because they only tested the cell phone ringing. The only part within a cell phone capable of generating a spark is the button contacts. If a cell phone can cause a gas fire it would be when the buttons are pushed, not when it rings.

There has never been an explosion in the US because of talking on a cell phone while pumping gas. The other day at the Arco in Santa Rosa on corner Guernville/Fulton, some idiot went phyco on me because I was talking on my cell phone. I told him to mind his own business and he proceeded to call me a bunch of names...like fatso, cow, selfish, and a bunch of cuss words...for nothing. He was practically accusing me of being a 'counter terrorist' and that I didn't care if I blew the gas station up... This was totally untrue. He was the wierdo in this situation, I thought he was going to assault me or call the police!!! I felt violated. But I'm starting to feel better today...

Well gentlemen I have driven a gas tanker for over 14 years now. And dont know if a modern cell phone can create a spark to set off an explosion but i can tell you from experience in a fueling terminal where we fill our tankers that the fumes have been ignited by a cell phone. Some phones are not only digital but analog.
Never fill a plastic fuel can sitting in your trunk or bed of a pickup.Always put it on the concrete. reason being static discharge from fuel running into plastic.
Look at a gas tanker while he is dropping fuel and notice the line he runs into the ground.
You will see what looks like a normal plastic 4 inch tube, but look at the spiral windings running around the tube that is a ground wire that grounds both fittings from the truck and the tank.
If that wires breaks it is possible for fuel running inside the tube to create enough static charge to ignite.
And yes boys and girls I have had a Hose catch fire when dropping fuel.
Good idea when you get out of your car to fuel to touch the car to release static buildup.

That is true about static discharge igniting fuel. But the fact is that the RF generated by a cell will not set gas on fire.

I don't know if this has been tried yet. Did they ever think about radar used at weather stations or airports. I know some planes can even transmit their weather radar on the ground. They need to take a barrel of gas and stick it in front of a radar antenna.