• NaibofTabr@infosec.pub
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    24 hours ago

    The biggest difference (from a fire perspective) is that firefighters can’t just throw water on an electric car in an emergency. Fires are less common for electric cars, but dealing with them when they are on fire is a lot more difficult (metal fires are nasty). There are some specialty suppressants that can be used, but they aren’t widely available - they’re expensive compared to water, you can’t just get them out of a city water hookup, and it’s difficult for a firetruck to carry them in high volume. Common practice is to just let an electric car fire burn itself out.

    This battery design sounds like it won’t self-ignite from overheating, which is good. But… crashes would be a concern. If the car were overheating or on fire (upholstery, gasoline splash from an ICE vehicle, lubricant oil, etc) it would be difficult to deal with safely. Sodium and water is… kind of spectacular: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4aVueFmOHo

    • sparkyshocks@lemmy.zip
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      5 hours ago

      Sodium and water is… kind of spectacular:

      But sodium ions and water are something we deal with on a daily basis, when we salt food. The characteristics of elemental sodium, as a metal, are basically irrelevant to discussing its safety as ions or bonded in molecules.

      • SupraMario@lemmy.world
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        19 hours ago

        Yea…they can, the video you posted even talkes about how they would put it out. You starve it of oxygen and cool the fuel down to pre-ignition temps.

        • Jhex@lemmy.world
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          19 hours ago

          you can’t do what they displayed on the vid with a size car fire… they do contain them more easily though