sysD Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/03/31/scientists-fight-flames-with-electric-wand/ "When the amplifier was turned on, the wand-like wire, serving as an electrode, generated an oscillating electric field that essentially pushed the flame off its fuel source. This extinguished it, said chemist and lead author Ludovico Cademartiri, a postdoctoral fellow who presented the findings in California on Sunday at a meeting of the American Chemical Society." This is so cool. Discuss? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thinker_jeff Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 This may be the cool invention to be used in the future. But, how can it reach far enough like the water gun does? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainPanic Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 I guess they will just have to scale it up now! Getting a small fire out isn't rocketscience... people have experience with that since prehistoric times. But putting out a huge fire, that's a different story. Actually, this idea might have different applications than firefighting. In industry, there are lots of fires being turned on and off... And depending on the fuel, it can be tricky to turn it off. But regardless of all that... bigger is better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swansont Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 This may be the cool invention to be used in the future. But, how can it reach far enough like the water gun does? It may not have to — that probably isn't the application. I suspect this would find a use for fire suppression in rooms filled with expensive equipment or other valuables where you don't want to have water around, and where you can't get an airtight seal, or a reasonable approximation thereof, for a halon-type system (or some other reason not to use it). If you could make it portable, it could supplement handheld extinguishers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thinker_jeff Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 It may not have to — that probably isn't the application. I suspect this would find a use for fire suppression in rooms filled with expensive equipment or other valuables where you don't want to have water around, and where you can't get an airtight seal, or a reasonable approximation thereof, for a halon-type system (or some other reason not to use it). If you could make it portable, it could supplement handheld extinguishers. I've got an idea - It might be able to be used in helicopter for fire department. You know, the fire-fighting for skyscrapers is still the world-class challenge. The equipments on ground cannot reach high enough; and the helicopters cannot carry enough water. If the new fire extinguisher could be extended from a helicopter, it would a big help to control fire on the high levels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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