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da ([personal profile] da) wrote2008-11-17 10:03 am
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Boggled

[livejournal.com profile] melted_snowball and I were wondering about something this morning. Why do some autos have a metallic strap hanging down from the rear bumper onto the road?

I thought I read somewhere it was to prevent charge buildup in the car so the gas tank didn't explode. But oh, it's so much better than that.


09:48 <@dnm> They believe it cures motion sickness.
09:48 <@dnm> yarly.
09:48 <@dnm> (It doesn't.)
09:50 <@daniel> wait, I thought you were kidding still.
09:50 <@daniel> http://www.mizter.com/testimonials.htm


*boggles*

[identity profile] quingawaga.livejournal.com 2008-11-17 05:30 pm (UTC)(link)
It's conductive enough that I get a shock when I'm getting out of the car! I think the strap should work just fine. I'd rather have the charge dissipate through a strap as I drive then have the built-up charge ground through me when I get out. It hurts.

Plus it happens even when it's raining.

I wonder if the static buildup is related to which tires I have on the car. I am trying to remember which tires I've had on in the past when the shocks were at their worst. Seems to me the winter tires are causing more of a buildup.

[identity profile] thingo.livejournal.com 2008-11-17 07:58 pm (UTC)(link)
The air is drier in the winter, which promotes static electricity. In our building, shocks are far worse in the winter, even though nothing else changes.

I don't think it's related to the tires or the road surface. Isn't the static buildup just a result of dragging the car through the air?

[identity profile] kraig.livejournal.com 2008-11-17 08:35 pm (UTC)(link)
I don't know; I know my Echo gives me *wicked* shocks, way more than I was used to from the previous half dozen or so vehicles I've driven regularly.

But none of them have been in Ontario. I don't think I get brutal shocks from my wife's mother's car though. (Some Ford product.)