noxiousvegeta Posted September 2, 2014 Share Posted September 2, 2014 Hello, i bought a laptop for the first time in my life,and i was wondering, since laptops are so small, heat is pushed directly on the plastic of the laptop and i know that plastic if heated up can become toxic, what amount of heat (in temperature celsius) makes a laptop "lenovo t43 (refurbished)"'s plastic toxic? i usually get to 53-55-57 celsius for the processor ingame and for the hard disk 41c. (the laptop is refurbished) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strange Posted September 2, 2014 Share Posted September 2, 2014 i know that plastic if heated up can become toxic I suppose that if you set fire to it, it might create some fairly toxic fumes. And you probably shouldn't eat it. I'm not aware of any other way the plastic can become toxic. The laptop is designed to withstand the levels of heat it generates so I would not expect the plastic to melt or catch fire. So I can't see any danger from it. There should not be any lead or mercury in a modern device so the only toxic materials might be the metals in the battery (if they were dissolved in your drinking water). Good laptop, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noxiousvegeta Posted September 2, 2014 Author Share Posted September 2, 2014 I suppose that if you set fire to it, it might create some fairly toxic fumes. And you probably shouldn't eat it. I'm not aware of any other way the plastic can become toxic. The laptop is designed to withstand the levels of heat it generates so I would not expect the plastic to melt or catch fire. So I can't see any danger from it. There should not be any lead or mercury in a modern device so the only toxic materials might be the metals in the battery (if they were dissolved in your drinking water). Good laptop, though. the laptop is not good, i use a desktop for serious gaming, but this one is good enough for some old games, flash games, ect. anyways at what temperature would the plastics in a laptop melt? also i can feel the battery is warm, but i have not found any software that allows me to monitor the temperature. and, as a desktop user, i am not sure if laptops are meant to be used for big amounts of times, or if they are meant to run untill the battery goes off so they can cool down. For now i am using it for an hour and then giving it a 30 min break. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strange Posted September 2, 2014 Share Posted September 2, 2014 the laptop is not good, i use a desktop for serious gaming, but this one is good enough for some old games, flash games, ect. Ah, well. Good in its day, perhaps. anyways at what temperature would the plastics in a laptop melt? It varies. I imagine the case is made of thermosetting plastic which wouldn't really melt. Just catch fire if it gets hot enough. and, as a desktop user, i am not sure if laptops are meant to be used for big amounts of times, or if they are meant to run untill the battery goes off so they can cool down. For now i am using it for an hour and then giving it a 30 min break. I have always used them continuously, including for very compute intensive tasks. It will have gone through a very thorough thermal design process, modelling heat conduction, air flows, etc. The processor will turn fans on and/or change clock speed/supply voltage as necessary to keep it in a safe working temperature. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainPanic Posted September 2, 2014 Share Posted September 2, 2014 The plastics will not melt until the temperature reaches over 100 degrees Celsius. By then, the laptop would already be too hot to touch. For normal use, that is not an issue. If it would get too hot to touch, something is wrong, and you should take the laptop back to the store where you bought it (or just get a new one if it is really old).Laptops can be used non-stop, if you plug them in while using. The only danger that I have heard of is that laptops will increase the temperature of men's testicles (because that is exactly where you keep that laptop: on your lap.) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noxiousvegeta Posted September 2, 2014 Author Share Posted September 2, 2014 (edited) Ah, well. Good in its day, perhaps. It varies. I imagine the case is made of thermosetting plastic which wouldn't really melt. Just catch fire if it gets hot enough. I have always used them continuously, including for very compute intensive tasks. It will have gone through a very thorough thermal design process, modelling heat conduction, air flows, etc. The processor will turn fans on and/or change clock speed/supply voltage as necessary to keep it in a safe working temperature. The plastics will not melt until the temperature reaches over 100 degrees Celsius. By then, the laptop would already be too hot to touch. For normal use, that is not an issue. If it would get too hot to touch, something is wrong, and you should take the laptop back to the store where you bought it (or just get a new one if it is really old).Laptops can be used non-stop, if you plug them in while using. The only danger that I have heard of is that laptops will increase the temperature of men's testicles (because that is exactly where you keep that laptop: on your lap.) thanks guys, now i am more relaxed on using it without giving it breaks, and at 57celsius for the cpu and 41 for the hard disk and let's assume 40 for the battery, nothing it's reaching 100c so i am more calm to know this kind of plastics wont melt. (ONE doubt here, do i have to sum the temperatures to get the internals temperatures? like 40+41+57? that would be over a hundred degrees???) For now, after very intensive tests such as prime95 the temperature of the cpu never goes above 57celsius, and the hard disk sits at 36-41c, the gpu is integrated, so it's not generating heat, the battery feels warm, but not that much.. But if i try to put the pc in my lap, it does feel hot, and that is very weird. Any guess? ok update: it feels hot to the touch but only if i have it on my bareskin, so on my laps without the pants (this was just to try, do not misunderstand), but if i have pants on, so the computer is not having direct contact with my skin, it just feels barely hot. is this normal? should i worry? Edited September 2, 2014 by noxiousvegeta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Cuthber Posted September 2, 2014 Share Posted September 2, 2014 The plastic is made of big molecules- too big to be particularly toxic. So "hot enough to be toxic" means hot enough to break the molecules down into smaller bits. The laptop case was made by melting the plastic and forcing it into a mould. The molecules didn't break down- or the stuff would fall apart. So, we can deduce that temperatures high enough to melt the plastic and make it runny enough to mould it are not "hot enough to be toxic". you are pretty much safe as long as the case does not melt. If it does that then you have a different problem. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ophiolite Posted September 2, 2014 Share Posted September 2, 2014 Take great care to ensure that the vents for the cooling fan are not covered in anyway. This could happen, for example, if you set the laptop down on a bed, or sofa to take a phone call, or are distracted in some other way. Also, we had a case recently where one of our staff, on a flight, failed to shut their laptop down properly, put it in their briefcase and then into the overhead locker. The laptop seriously overheated, melting half the plastic, destroying the mother board and coming very close to initiating a fire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharonY Posted September 2, 2014 Share Posted September 2, 2014 Take great care to ensure that the vents for the cooling fan are not covered in anyway. This could happen, for example, if you set the laptop down on a bed, or sofa to take a phone call, or are distracted in some other way. Also, we had a case recently where one of our staff, on a flight, failed to shut their laptop down properly, put it in their briefcase and then into the overhead locker. The laptop seriously overheated, melting half the plastic, destroying the mother board and coming very close to initiating a fire. The same thing happened in a University where I worked. A student put a laptop which did not shut down properly into a bag and left it unattended. After a while it started smoldering and releasing smoke. It is therefore prudent to check whether closing the lid actually put the laptop into sleep mode before putting it away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainPanic Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 The same thing happened in a University where I worked. A student put a laptop which did not shut down properly into a bag and left it unattended. After a while it started smoldering and releasing smoke. It is therefore prudent to check whether closing the lid actually put the laptop into sleep mode before putting it away. Don't modern laptops have a protection against stuff like this? Like an automatic shutdown if the temperature gets too hot? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noxiousvegeta Posted September 3, 2014 Author Share Posted September 3, 2014 The plastic is made of big molecules- too big to be particularly toxic. So "hot enough to be toxic" means hot enough to break the molecules down into smaller bits. The laptop case was made by melting the plastic and forcing it into a mould. The molecules didn't break down- or the stuff would fall apart. So, we can deduce that temperatures high enough to melt the plastic and make it runny enough to mould it are not "hot enough to be toxic". you are pretty much safe as long as the case does not melt. If it does that then you have a different problem. how am i supposed to know if the internals are melting? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strange Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 how am i supposed to know if the internals are melting? Do you hear a sloshing noise? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noxiousvegeta Posted September 3, 2014 Author Share Posted September 3, 2014 (edited) Do you hear a sloshing noise? Like the sound of something liquid? in that case no, i don't think, my laptop does make weird sounds (like a razor sometimes) but then it stops if i put it standby and turn it back on. But other users pointed out that melting temperatures would be very high (100c) and before melting it can't be toxic even if heated, so now i am more calm. anyways i really appreciate this forum because there are many forums where there are experts of computers...but experts of computers and science fans/students in the very same forum it's just perfect ! Edited September 3, 2014 by noxiousvegeta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strange Posted September 3, 2014 Share Posted September 3, 2014 Like the sound of something liquid? in that case no, i don't think, my laptop does make weird sounds (like a razor sometimes) but then it stops if i put it standby and turn it back on. Probably the fan bearings or something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noxiousvegeta Posted September 5, 2014 Author Share Posted September 5, 2014 Probably the fan bearings or something. Another thing i can hear is when the laptop is turned off or in standby, i can hear a whistle...very very light, barely hearable, but i wonder what is that coming from Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strange Posted September 5, 2014 Share Posted September 5, 2014 (edited) Another thing i can hear is when the laptop is turned off or in standby, i can hear a whistle...very very light, barely hearable, but i wonder what is that coming from Is that from the laptop or the power adapter? If the latter, it could be the switch-mode converter. If the former .... I can't think of anything. Tinnitus? Edited September 5, 2014 by Strange 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noxiousvegeta Posted September 8, 2014 Author Share Posted September 8, 2014 (edited) Is that from the laptop or the power adapter? If the latter, it could be the switch-mode converter. If the former .... I can't think of anything. Tinnitus? When cooled down it emitts a barely-smellable plastic smell, if it's playing for hours the smell is stronger (only if i get close to it and smell). Normal? And for the whistle...its from around the touchpad, even when the laptop is turned off... When the laptop is stressed, it's more loud. As for the GPU temperature i found it out, it gets to about 63celsius and the Hard disk is at 41, cpu is about 53-57. Now that's over 100celsius in a laptop. Do i have to worry? Edited September 8, 2014 by noxiousvegeta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MigL Posted September 21, 2014 Share Posted September 21, 2014 (edited) The cpu temperature is the on-die temperature, it is covered by a heat sink and fan to channel away the heat. The plastic (case ) temperature is nowhere near that. The hard drive temperature is the bearing temperature of the HD spindle. It does rotate at 5400 rpm, or if not the original HD, maybe 7200 rpm. The razor blade noise you hear is more than likely the HD head stepper motor which becomes active on start-up or resume from 'sleep'. The cpu heat sink on laptops is almost always finely finned copper. The fine fins catch 'dust bunnies' and cat hair ( I have two cats and 12 multi-core laptops one of which is a Macbook, don't ask me why about either ), if this isn't cleaned out regularly, it will give off a burning smell. But it is not burning plastic. This applies to desktops also, but the heat sink is much larger and easier to get at ( I have two 4-core, one 8-core and did I mention, two cats ). As someone has already mentioned, modern cpu, throttle down and even shut down at high temps. Your Intel cpu has this feature. If the battery should catch fire ( there have been recalls on some Sony models amongst others ) don't put water on it. Batteries contain Lithium. You'll only make things worse. Edited September 21, 2014 by MigL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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