5 ms·
Wait. You insulated some live DC wires with _paper_ and then hid that behind some plastic in an airplane somewhere? I'm way more concerned with the fire hazar
by alex_young 10y ago
Wait. You insulated some live DC wires with _paper_ and then hid that behind some plastic in an airplane somewhere? I'm way more concerned with the fire hazard you introduced than the profiling stuff others are mentioning.
Please don't do this to my airplane.
- x1798DE 10y agoIt's headphones, not some wire hidden behind anything, or anything carrying a significant current. He stripped the wires on the headphones they gave him to listen to the in-flight audio.
- guynamedloren 10y agoDo you have any resources to show how this is potentially a fire hazard? Genuinely curious.. because I often hear people talk about even the most basic electronics as this Big Scary Thing, and in my mind, it is quite simple and harmless. Please share.
- StavrosK 10y agoEasy: Because the wires are wrapped in paper, if you simply light a lighter next to them and hold it to the paper for a few seconds, you have kindling. Then, if you can find something in a plane that's not fire-retardant and heat it with the flaming piece of paper enough, voila: an inadvertent fire.
- gcr 10y agoWhy go to the complicated step of insulating a wire with the paper? You could make the situation much easier by just tearing some paper out of your notebook for kindling. Not sure how one would manage to sneak a lighter onboard though.
- pacbard 10y ago> Not sure how one would manage to sneak a lighter onboard though. Lighters are allowed as carry-on luggage: https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ash/ash_programs/hazmat/passenger_info/media/airline_passengers_lighters_faq.pdf https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/as...
- StavrosK 10y agoI was being facetious.
- sundvor 10y agoAnd I was laughing. :-) Good one.
- pluma 10y agoOr you could just find something not fire-retardant and apply the lighter to it directly.
- aptwebapps 10y agoJust ask Fire Marshal Bill.
- throwanem 10y agoGrandparent misunderstood the post as talking about taking the armrest apart, not the headphones. Nothing to see here.
- dsr_ 10y agoMax voltage there will be about 2V DC. (Could be up to 3.4V, but much more likely to be 1.73V). Dry paper is roughly as conductive as glass: that is, no fire is going to happen here. You can't get a spark.
- jsjohnst 10y agoThe voltage is less important than the amperage with something like this, but that fact only further emphasizes your point, there's literally zero risk of the paper catching fire.
- eggy 10y ago1.73Vrms / 45 ohms of impedance of headphones = 0.038 mA (doesn't include minor impedance from output) Power (Watts) = V^2/R, or I^2*R, so a maximum of 0.067 Watts to start a fire. Not much at all.
- jsjohnst 10y agoYup, exactly. A static electricity spark is typically high voltage, but very low amperage, and even it would be highly unlikely to set paper ablaze. A headphone is both very low amperage and low voltage, so essentially impossible without an external catalyst.
- monochromatic 10y agoI would be absolutely floored if this headphone amp had enough current capacity to even noticeably heat up under a dead short.