Popular Science Monthly 1923-10: Vol 103 Iss 4

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POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY SUMNER N.-BLOSSOM, Editor OCTOBER, 1923

What Static Sparks Cost Us Science Teaches Motorists How to Protect Themselves Against a Danger in Fuel that Is More Deadly than Dynamite By Raymond J. Brown HROUGH the deaths of three motorists, all occurring with- in a week recently in widely sepa- rated parts of the country; attention of automotive en- gineers- has been focused upon an odd but deadly peril in the gaso- line tanks of auto- mobiles. It is the danger of explo- sion and fire from the ignition of gas- oline fumes by static electricity. The tremendous scope of this newly discovered danger is apparent when we realize that more than 11,500,- 000 automo- biles in daily use in the United States consume annually almost 3,500,000,000 gal- lons of gasoline—a fluid more danger- ous than dynamite if not carefully handled. Mary Fires Organizations concerned directly . or indiréctly with fire perils sudden- ly have discovered that many. dis- astrous. fires, the origin . of which was shrouded in mystery, actually were caused by static sparks coming in contact with the fumes of gasoline.” As a re- sult they are hast- ening to perfect preventive mea- sures that will les- sen this real source of preperty..dam- age and death. The American Petroleum Insti- +

og aes Courtesy National Board of Fire Underwriters These photographs show how a huge gaso- line tank truck was demolished by an ex- plosion due to static electricity at a way- side service station in Downey, Calif. The steel tank at the right was blown 48 feet

or seem oe ate

Protecting a tank truck from static sparks. Arrow points to dragging chain attached to chassis. This serves as a

a. ot PGi ie ote Pe he. 2 Brena). OS Br te bi Rue te . < of of Po sagan ee Courtesy Sinclair Consolidated Oil Co. “ground connection to carry off static electricity generated by friction of gasoline flowing through filling hose tute has forwarded a comprehensive ques- tionnaire on the sgub- ject to oil producers and dealers in an effort to standardize scientific methods of protecting gasoline tanks and tank wag- ons from the hazards of static. The Na- tional Board of. Fire Underwriters has issued a bulletin ex- plaining in detail the fire danger that always accompanies gasoline. The American So- ciety of Electrical En- gineers and- the United States Bureau Standards have been designated by the Ameri- gan Engineering Stand- ards joint committee to for- mulate codes for the protection of gasoline against lightning, Committee as a and course, static, which is potential lightning in miniature. The gravity of the problem is re- . vealed by such’ ac- tivities as these. What Is Static? Static electricity may be generated in an infinite number of ways. Wherever there is friction it is likely to be produced. It is static that crack- les in your hair when you apply a rubber comb in the winter- time. It is static that causes.sparks to jump from your fingers when you touch a metal object or ‘the hand of another per- son after walking across a carpeted floor. Usually these sparks will -do no harm; but, if gener- ated where gasoline vapor has combined with the air in ex- plosive proportion— above the gas tank of 27 ee