> Ending the phone call, I asked him what happens if I generate a 10,000
> volts electric red spark between two electrodes 3mm apart, half meter
> deep inside liquid gasoline... he aswered: Absolute NOTHING, but don't
> even think to do it. He said it is much more dangerous to be shaking
> (playing with) your car's keys around gas vapors.

Indeed.. No air, no oxygen, no problem.


BTW: My "calibration run" was interesting. Highest potential measured was
3300V, lowest was unmeasurable. As expected, flinging off the highway at 65
directly into a gas station produced the highest reading, and motoring
around the city was teh lowest. I measured this by staying in the car, and
measuring the relative charge between myself/the car/ and the meter to the
pump.

In dryer weather, these readings will be much higher. The 3300V didn't give
me a noticable shock, but I have been shocked quite nicely in the winter.

One would suspect that when the nozzle approaches the tank, there might be a
spark.. Certainly much more likely than anything my cellphone is going to
do.

I also noticed another possible reason for not wanting cellphones at the
pump, COMMERCIALS!  A BP station here has sort of a radio station thing
going on their PA system at the pumps, but of course it's all commercials...