I am sorry, but as a scientist with a degree in EE, this is nonsense.
The heat from a burning battery would immediately melt the copper wires and the heat could not be conducted from one house to another (convection is wrong; an entirely different process) or even within the house itself.
Except, that's not what they're talking about. The burning lithium ion battery would not be simply confined to transferring heat via the copper wiring to the house. It would also burn its enclosure and begin a fire around the area where it is installed.
That seems obvious to me... Did they not cover this in EE?
I doubt these small batteries cause fires anymore than batteries in your iPad or laptop. But I wonder how many electric cars have caught and spread the fire. Or Tesla Wall batteries…
Sure, but the important takeaway is that that the battery is connected to the copper wiring of the entire house. Once thermal runaway takes place, way too much heat will transfer through the copper wiring, burning up the house that way.
The wires would melt and not conduct heat further than a foot or two.
Molten copper on concrete does literally nothing. It solidifies immediately. I doubt wood would even burn if you splatter the volume of a foot of thick copper wire over it.
Wood chars and charred wood conducts heat very poorly. Also, it radiates heat away very well. This is why building a wood fire is not that easy. It takes tinder or fuel to get it going before it becomes self-sustaining.
meh, doesnt pass the melt test. Cu melts at 1985F, decoupling from whatever is melting it. Thermal transfer from hot copper wiring is minimal distance wise. now if you dump a ton of current through the wire, you could maybe create a nice little fire, but that isnt what is being discussed. if you burn a Li-ion battery to the suggested 6000F its more likely you'll ignite nearby lumber, which would likely spread. now, the facts are, Li-ion batteries only achieve 2750F not 6000F during thermal run-away blowouts. so this whole article seems bogus to me.
here's some battery science
On point, the wires aren't going to get hot enough several feet away to catch anything on fire. Just melt at the source, and the chain is broken. Could be localized at the meter, but that's about it. If you've ever seen a short circuit on a PCB, the traces melt at the weakest links. Every trace on the PCB doesn't go up in flames.
This is about thermal transfer. The copper does not have to melt to transfer heat hot enough into the house to start the fire. And when the house directly next door to your house has a burning smart meter, that's significant
There has been a lack of 'hey power to my house failed before there were fires' type posts - or if there have been some they have not been numerous enough to reach a zeitgeist level where it reminds others that they also saw the same thing in their own house which also burned.
And the physics of 'lots of building wires therefore lots of combustion-level heat being spread everywhere' doesn't really play out since it has a very tiny cross-section (think of the thickness of wire used as the conductors for lighting and power circuits in a home) that contacts hotter material like combusting batteries - see 'conduction' section below.
Maybe this doesn't hold water. BUT the smart meters are still bad news. They are part of scooping up all data about you, including when you are away from home, so that the Deep State knows what you are doing at all times.
I am sorry, but as a scientist with a degree in EE, this is nonsense.
The heat from a burning battery would immediately melt the copper wires and the heat could not be conducted from one house to another (convection is wrong; an entirely different process) or even within the house itself.
Came n to say that...
Copper has a melt point at 1,984°F.
It "could" start a fire but I think Juan or Ahmed are setting those fires.
Except, that's not what they're talking about. The burning lithium ion battery would not be simply confined to transferring heat via the copper wiring to the house. It would also burn its enclosure and begin a fire around the area where it is installed.
That seems obvious to me... Did they not cover this in EE?
I doubt these small batteries cause fires anymore than batteries in your iPad or laptop. But I wonder how many electric cars have caught and spread the fire. Or Tesla Wall batteries…
Sure, but the important takeaway is that that the battery is connected to the copper wiring of the entire house. Once thermal runaway takes place, way too much heat will transfer through the copper wiring, burning up the house that way.
Here's an example in human form: mitochrondia produces excess heat within the body and causes spontaneous combustion.
The wires would melt and not conduct heat further than a foot or two.
Molten copper on concrete does literally nothing. It solidifies immediately. I doubt wood would even burn if you splatter the volume of a foot of thick copper wire over it.
Wood chars and charred wood conducts heat very poorly. Also, it radiates heat away very well. This is why building a wood fire is not that easy. It takes tinder or fuel to get it going before it becomes self-sustaining.
I love learning. Thank you :)
This is nonsense...
If its hot enough to ignite a small battery of 2xAA size,you've already got more to worry about.
You dont die from heat , its the smoke...its full of carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide from modern plastics and furnishings.
meh, doesnt pass the melt test. Cu melts at 1985F, decoupling from whatever is melting it. Thermal transfer from hot copper wiring is minimal distance wise. now if you dump a ton of current through the wire, you could maybe create a nice little fire, but that isnt what is being discussed. if you burn a Li-ion battery to the suggested 6000F its more likely you'll ignite nearby lumber, which would likely spread. now, the facts are, Li-ion batteries only achieve 2750F not 6000F during thermal run-away blowouts. so this whole article seems bogus to me.
here's some battery science
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378775320308892
On point, the wires aren't going to get hot enough several feet away to catch anything on fire. Just melt at the source, and the chain is broken. Could be localized at the meter, but that's about it. If you've ever seen a short circuit on a PCB, the traces melt at the weakest links. Every trace on the PCB doesn't go up in flames.
This is about thermal transfer. The copper does not have to melt to transfer heat hot enough into the house to start the fire. And when the house directly next door to your house has a burning smart meter, that's significant
The point is that the copper WOULD melt at the terminals. There is no chance of any conductivity of heat.
Love how smart frens throw hand grenades on dubious claims using science.
There has been a lack of 'hey power to my house failed before there were fires' type posts - or if there have been some they have not been numerous enough to reach a zeitgeist level where it reminds others that they also saw the same thing in their own house which also burned.
And the physics of 'lots of building wires therefore lots of combustion-level heat being spread everywhere' doesn't really play out since it has a very tiny cross-section (think of the thickness of wire used as the conductors for lighting and power circuits in a home) that contacts hotter material like combusting batteries - see 'conduction' section below.
https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/295563/how-fast-does-heat-travel-through-conduction-convection-and-radiation
https://x.com/Nancy023922191/status/1878294123083624477
Maybe this doesn't hold water. BUT the smart meters are still bad news. They are part of scooping up all data about you, including when you are away from home, so that the Deep State knows what you are doing at all times.
This is a shitpost 🤣