# Static electricity **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 8, 2003, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/static-electricity/217786 "2003-12-08T23:27:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![yoyo3500](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/5daacb/32.png) [@yoyo3500](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yoyo3500)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2003, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/static-electricity/217786/1 "2003-12-08T23:27:50Z")
The winter season is upon us and I can once again freely engage in one of my favorite pasttimes in bed - making lots and lots of static electricity with my blanket! It sure is neat-o when the heater makes everything so dry and staticlike. But as I age and gain in maturity, I must ask this question. Is making this electric storm in bed in any way a fire hazard? Will my blanket burst into flames one of these nights?:eek: ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2003, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/static-electricity/217786/2 "2003-12-09T00:13:36Z")
It depends. Are you in the habit of storing open containers of ethyl ether or gasoline near your bed? Static sparks are not hot enough, long enough to ignite _most_ materials, but flammable vapors, or even suspended powders can be set off with a small spark. ---
**Author:** ![yoyo3500](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/5daacb/32.png) [@yoyo3500](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yoyo3500)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2003, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/static-electricity/217786/3 "2003-12-09T02:12:05Z")
My blanket of choice for the show is 90% acrylic and 10% polyester. And it’s green. So I suppose it’s not really flammable enough, huh. This is great news. I can’t wait to go to bed! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Trigonal\_Planar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/0ea827/32.png) [@Trigonal\_Planar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trigonal_Planar)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2003, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/static-electricity/217786/4 "2003-12-09T02:40:35Z")
As an inquisitive young child, I spent the better part of 14 years worth of Winters trying to do all sorts of neat “tricks” with static sparks. Never once did I succeed in catching anything on fire 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2003, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/static-electricity/217786/5 "2003-12-09T02:46:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Trigonal Planar \* > \*\*Never once did I succeed in catching anything on fire 😛 \*\* I got a microwave oven transformer that’ll do the trick. 2 kV at about 500 milliamps can do a lot of damage. ---
**Author:** ![KP](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a9adbd/32.png) [@KP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KP)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2003, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/static-electricity/217786/6 "2003-12-09T02:51:33Z")
I ignite things with sparks all the time - mostly butane and propane, but chemically, it should work with methane, too. The ludicrous lesson for the ultra-cautious is left as an exercise for the reader. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2003, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/static-electricity/217786/7 "2003-12-09T03:00:19Z")
Finally, **KP** solves the riddle of spontaneous human self-combustion Be afraid. Be _very_ afraid! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Shrinking\_Violet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@Shrinking\_Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shrinking_Violet)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2003, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/static-electricity/217786/8 "2003-12-09T15:37:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Squink \* > \*\*flammable vapors … can be set off with a small spark. \*\* So no beans before bed for you, m’lad! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![bughunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@bughunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bughunter)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2003, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/static-electricity/217786/9 "2003-12-09T17:21:12Z")
Just don’t take your computer to bed with you! ---
**Author:** ![bbeaty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c0e974/32.png) [@bbeaty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bbeaty)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2003, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/static-electricity/217786/10 "2003-12-09T19:19:34Z")
Take a fluorescent tube with you under the charged blanket. Sometimes you can even make a standard lightbulb glow (use the clear kind, not the frosted kind.) ---
**Author:** ![Trigonal\_Planar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/0ea827/32.png) [@Trigonal\_Planar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trigonal_Planar)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2003, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/static-electricity/217786/11 "2003-12-09T20:03:40Z")
> [@](#): > > I got a microwave oven transformer that’ll do the trick. 2 kV at about 500 milliamps can do a lot of damage. That’s nothing. I’ve got a tesla coil. But I was trying to keep this within the realm of human-produced charges. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2003, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/static-electricity/217786/12 "2003-12-09T20:25:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Trigonal Planar \* > \*\*That’s nothing. I’ve got a tesla coil. But I was trying to keep this within the realm of human-produced charges. \*\* The static voltages produced by human action can be considerable: in the neighborhood of 10-30 kV. Of course the total amount of charge is relatively small, so the currents are very tiny.