I don't believe it. Yes, a notebook computer will get hot with the vents blocked. Will it generate enough heat to ignite clothing it is resting on? I highly doubt it. According to this website:
http://www.tcforensic.com.au/docs/article10.html Cotton ignites at 250 degrees C (for some reason it's in the table for plastics). Even hay doesn't ignite until it reaches 172 degrees C, according to the same site. Notebook computers will not get that hot even with all vents blocked. Thanks to the magic of Google, I happened to find a CB report online for a notebook computer. I won't link to it just in case it's not supposed to be public, but it got several blocked vent tests (CB report issued by UL). It ran for several hours for each test in ambients between 28 C and 29 C. The hottest temperature recorded inside the computer, according to the report, was 81 C. Cheesecloth was not charred or ignited for any of the tests. It was a relatively low power computer (the AC adapters it can use are rated 65W out), but there is a long way to go from 81 C to 250 C. There had to have been some additional type of fault there, as has been suggested by John and Ted. Scott Aldous Compliance Manager/Engineering Lab Manager AE Solar Energy +1.970.492.2065 Direct +1.970.407.5872 Fax +1.541.312.3832 Main [email protected] 1625 Sharp Point Drive Fort Collins, CO 80525 www.advanced-energy.com/solarenergy<http://www.advanced-energy.com/solarenergy> From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of IBM Ken Sent: Tuesday, March 12, 2013 1:13 PM To: EMC-PSTC (E-mail) Subject: Re: laptop -> house fire "P.E.I. deputy fire marshal Robert Arsenault demonstrates how vents on a laptop computer can be blocked when it is sitting on a pile of clothes. (CBC)" Why did he pick that brand of laptop to demonstrate with? XD Does anyone have more information on this incident? On Tue, Mar 12, 2013 at 2:49 PM, Brian Oconnell <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: Blocked vent test anyone? Forseeable misuse? I like my computers well done. <www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/story/2013/03/06/pei-laptop-hou se-fire-computer-584.html<http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/story/2013/03/06/pei-laptop-house-fire-computer-584.html>> - ---------------------------------------------------------------- This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society emc-pstc discussion list. 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