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iPhone Auto-Combusts On Australian Airplane
First time accepted submitter thegreymonkey writes "Last Friday, an iPhone caught fire on flight ZL319 operating from Lismore to Sydney. This incident is under investigation from Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) and the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA). This accident might be related to the iPhone battery again." Whether it "caught fire" may be a matter of semantics; as reported in the above linked story and by Network World (hat tip to reader alphadogg), though, the iPhone "started glowing red and emitting dense smoke."
Sounds more like a job for an exorcist. I banish thee, Steve!
Mobile phones will be prohibited on flights.
(But there are drawbacks as well; think laptops with lithium-ion batteries.)
It is an iPhone therefore it is a feature.
Energetic chemistry is energetic.
Go find some RC enthusiasts and ask them if they've seen LiPos burn. There's a good chance they have.
That's why we charge our batteries in a lipo bag or other fireproof container.
Of course, RC batteries are abused much more than those in phones, but it's highly non-surprising that occasionally one lights on fire.
Blessed are the pessimists, for they have made backups.
The phone realized via it's GPS and flight tracker where it was headed and offed itself.
I don't want to start a "TSA is a bunch of idiots" thread but I'm honestly surprised that this hasn't happened more often.
I somehow doubt the TSA was involved in any way, shape, or form for a domestic Australian flight. At all... call it a hunch.
Between this, the Volt battery going up in flames and on a smaller scale the Belgian Post e-bikes catching fire, I am very worried about the fast deployment of Li-ion batteries in many fields.
I am a researcher in Li-ion batteries, and I know how dangerous those little buggers can be, but also how many efforts are done to make them safer. However, you can't take bad manufacturing out of the equation, and you should always ask yourself why a no-name chinese battery costs 1/3 of the original battery.
It would be nice to know if the phone was ever dropped, or its battery replaced at any point, or if a non-standard charger was used.
I would love to see them ban computers and cellphones because that would effect frequent business travelers, and perhaps cause some pushback against the insanity of airline security.
Modern government could be summarised with the tagline: "The infrastructure exists for the corporation."
So that won't happen.
they were holding it wrong.
the iPhone "started glowing red and emitting dense smoke.
That's what you get for installing the antichrist app. Idiot.
Coincidentally yesterday I was driving while the kids watched movies on DVD players. Then Bang a huge explosions and plastic and metal go flying. The cigarette lighter power adapters conditioning electronics had exploded. I didn't drive off the road but could have. It looks like the culprit was a kink in the cord, perhaps from getting caught in a door at some point, causing a short. The violence of the explosion was surprising both literally and figuratively. You just don't realize how explosive your consumer electronics can be when they go bad.
Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
Exactly what is the difference between a no-name Chinese battery, and a named Chinese battery, besides cost?
The name, obviously.
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Who said it was? To prevent things like this you have to take the battery out. Oh, wait
Hell with that! I want to see it on Mythbusters!
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
Quick, somebody register "damnyouautocombust.com"!
Slightly disreputable, albeit gregarious
One hand gernade is less than a 20oz soda, high explosives aren't calorically dense, they are good at release.
You may as well say a gram of anything has huge amounts of energy (E=mc^2), extracting it is left as a thought excersize.
Wow, sent an e-mail as suggested when clicking on "use classic" banner, and got a fast response that addressed my msg
Actually, the standard "Do not use water with electrical fires" is based on the danger of electrocution.
'Throwing' water on something would work fine as there is no stream connecting you to the electrified component.
In battery-powered systems this is usually not a concern and water is a fine medium to put it out with ;)
Hell, in any modern house the GFCI (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Residual-current_device) should trip long before you're in any danger of serious damage. More likely than not the power has already tripped if there is an electrical fire, or it will trip the instant the stream of water causes leakage current from the burning piece of hardware.
High voltage is of course a completely different scenario, luckily one most wont have to deal with... Like a water cooling system next to a 132kV transformer... ugh...
"In battery-powered systems this is usually not a concern and water is a fine medium to put it out with ;)"
Not by any means are you correct. Battery fires are classified as metal fires, and require a class-d extinguisher.
You try putting out a lithium fire by throwing water on it - I dare you.
Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
You try putting out a lithium fire by throwing water on it - I dare you.
Your fire will be extinguished by the hydrogen + air explosion. Even if it doesn't, the original fire will be the least of your concerns.
Water is the correct response to a lithium ion powered consumer device fire, as shown in this FAA-video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vS6KA_Si-m8
The purpose of the water is to cool down the batteries to prevent thermal run-away.
Well the problem was exactly that they couldn't get it any cooler. They tried to blow on it and turn it off, but it was still red-hot.
Actually, the standard "Do not use water with electrical fires" is based on the danger of electrocution. 'Throwing' water on something would work fine as there is no stream connecting you to the electrified component.
Absolutely amazing this statement has been modded insightful. Apparently mods have no further understanding of electrical fires than the poster.
Not putting water on an electrical fire has little to do with electrocution, although that is a valid concern for the responders dealing with the situation. Water is fine to put out the subsequent fire - say if the circuit board, plastic housing, or something else is on fire. However, if the electrical components that created the fire are still energized, dumping a conductive liquid on it is a stupid act. You will have a much larger problem before you have dumped enough water to create a viable electrocution hazard.
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If the battery manufacturer screwed the pooch, its Apple's fault?
They would be accountable, yes.
"I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)
Any power adapter should be able to survive a complete short on the output if it is designed properly.
And as we all know, the consumer electronics market is known for its high quality and attention to detail in their designs and build quality. ;-)
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