Car Batteries for Dummies

12-volt car battery

A fair number of people find it "interesting" to live on the edge. They like to be thought to be "risk-takers," though here at the Antisocial Network we call them potential Darwin Award candidates. If you're a self-described risk-taker, we suggest you might want to look to freelance writers for safety advice -- everyone else should avoid them like the plague. Wonder why we say that? Here's an example from one of the eHow.com stable of dumbasses, Mark Fitzpatrick, who posted something the site calls "Explosive Gases When Charging Batteries."¹

Unlike most eHow contributors, Mark has a degree in science. Unfortunately, it's political science. It's pretty clear that he didn't major in chemistry from misinformation like

"Consumers should understand the complex chemical properties that occur in a charging battery..."

or "Most of the chemical compounds in a battery are in a water solution. The water solution causes a chemical reaction with the sulfuric acid." or  "The reaction creates electrons, which are absorbed by the lead plates." We have to assume that Fitzpatrick was confused when he called the chemical reactions "properties" and even moreso when he claimed that those reactions are "complex" -- they're pretty simple. However, the "water solution" doesn't "[cause] a reaction with the sulfuric acid," it is the friggin' acid. Plus, saying that the lead plates "absorb" electrons in the reaction with sulfuric acid is... well, asinine.

Fitzpatrick finishes up by telling his readers that

"Hydrogen gas is created in the immediate area of the charging battery. This is not a concern to anyone's health, but hydrogen is very flammable..."

Well, yeah, it's highly flammable, but "not a concern to anyone's health"? If Mark wants to breathe this particular gas instead of oxygen, he's welcome to it! Whatever the case, this is merely one more case in which eHow should vet their "science" writing better. Then maybe they'd stop hauling in all those Dumbass of the Day awards.

¹ The original has been deleted by Leaf Group, but can still be accessed using the Wayback machine at archive.org. Its URL was    ehow.com/facts_7392185_explosive-gases-charging-batteries.html

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