Leaving Bottled Water in the Car Can Be Dangerous
Leaving a bottle of water in the car is a common habit among many drivers. However, in reality, bottled water can pose a fire hazard if placed in certain spots under hot weather conditions.
During the summer, almost everyone carries a bottle of water to avoid having to walk under the scorching sun just to buy one. For car owners, it’s very common to leave a water bottle inside the vehicle, often on the dashboard or next to the driver’s seat.
In an experiment conducted by Dioni Amuchastegui, an electrical engineer in Idaho (USA), it was shown that a water bottle can refract sunlight and generate heat exceeding 100°C. When placed on a dark surface—such as a car seat—the concentrated heat could ignite a fire and cause a disaster.
In fact, for a bottle of water to start a fire inside a car, several conditions must be met. Yet that doesn’t mean it cannot happen. Amuchastegui himself nearly experienced such an incident, which prompted him to conduct the experiment as a public warning.
If the weather is mild, leaving water in the car is not an issue. But when your vehicle is parked under direct sunlight at noon, it’s a different story. That seemingly harmless bottle of water could literally turn your car into a “fire car.”
The reason is that water bottles, usually spherical in shape and made of transparent plastic, can act like magnifying lenses. When filled with water, they are capable of focusing sunlight into a single point. At midday, the temperature inside a car can reach nearly 60°C. With sunlight passing through the bottle and converging on a spot, the heat can rise even higher, creating a fire hazard.
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