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jollyjacktar
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Shared with the usual caveats. An interesting idea...
Fighting fire with volts: How water hoses could be replaced with electric wands
The fireman's hose could become a thing of the past after scientists discovered the latest flame-fighting tool - an electric wand. Tests revealed that a bolt of high-powered electricity from hand-held wands is enough to extinguish a raging fire. A single beam of electricity shot from the wand that opens a path through the flame could then allow firemen to run into a burning building and rescue people inside safety.
The incredible idea is based on a 200-year-old observation that electricity can affect the shape of flames, making flames bend, twist, turn, flicker, and even snuffing them out. Researchers even hope that 'electric sprinklers' that fire bursts of electricity from the ceiling could replace the present day water ones, causing much less damage.
Research leader Dr Ludovico Cademartiri from Harvard University said: 'Controlling fires is an enormously difficult challenge. 'Our research has shown that by applying large electric fields we can suppress flames very rapidly. We're very excited about the results of this relatively unexplored area of research.' Firefighters currently use water, foam, powder and other substances to extinguish flames. The new technology could allow them to put out fires from a safe distance.
The technology could also save water and avoid the use of fire-fighting materials that could potentially harm the environment, the scientists suggest. In the study, they connected a powerful electrical amplifier to a wand-like probe and used the device to shoot beams of electricity at an open flame more than a foot high.
Almost instantly, the flame was snuffed out and it worked when the experiment was repeated.
The device consisted of a 600-watt amplifier, or about the same power as a high-end car stereo system. But Cademartiri believes that a power source with only a tenth of this wattage could have similar flame-suppressing effect. That could be vital to firefighters as it would enable the use of portable flame-tamer devices which could be carried by hand or fitted into a backpack.
Complicated scientific reactions take place when the electricity is fired. Carbon particles, or soot, generated in the flame can easily become charged which respond to the electric field, affecting the stability of flames.
'Combustion is first and foremost a chemical reaction – arguably one of the most important – but it's been somewhat neglected by most of the chemical community,' Dr Cademartiri added. 'We're trying to get a more complete picture of this very complex interaction.'
The researchers believe that futuristic electrical devices based on the phenomenon could be fixed on the ceilings of buildings or ships, similar to stationary water sprinklers now in use. Firefighters might even carry the flame-tamer in the form of a backpack and distribute the electricity to fires using a hand-held wand. The device would then make a path for firefighters to enter a fire or create an escape path for people to exit.
But although the electric wands would work best in enclosed spaces, they would not be as effective as water when dealing with large fires in opens spaces such as forests.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1370616/Fighting-volts-How-water-hoses-replaced-electric-wands.html#ixzz1Ht9iYbMM
Fighting fire with volts: How water hoses could be replaced with electric wands
The fireman's hose could become a thing of the past after scientists discovered the latest flame-fighting tool - an electric wand. Tests revealed that a bolt of high-powered electricity from hand-held wands is enough to extinguish a raging fire. A single beam of electricity shot from the wand that opens a path through the flame could then allow firemen to run into a burning building and rescue people inside safety.
The incredible idea is based on a 200-year-old observation that electricity can affect the shape of flames, making flames bend, twist, turn, flicker, and even snuffing them out. Researchers even hope that 'electric sprinklers' that fire bursts of electricity from the ceiling could replace the present day water ones, causing much less damage.
Research leader Dr Ludovico Cademartiri from Harvard University said: 'Controlling fires is an enormously difficult challenge. 'Our research has shown that by applying large electric fields we can suppress flames very rapidly. We're very excited about the results of this relatively unexplored area of research.' Firefighters currently use water, foam, powder and other substances to extinguish flames. The new technology could allow them to put out fires from a safe distance.
The technology could also save water and avoid the use of fire-fighting materials that could potentially harm the environment, the scientists suggest. In the study, they connected a powerful electrical amplifier to a wand-like probe and used the device to shoot beams of electricity at an open flame more than a foot high.
Almost instantly, the flame was snuffed out and it worked when the experiment was repeated.
The device consisted of a 600-watt amplifier, or about the same power as a high-end car stereo system. But Cademartiri believes that a power source with only a tenth of this wattage could have similar flame-suppressing effect. That could be vital to firefighters as it would enable the use of portable flame-tamer devices which could be carried by hand or fitted into a backpack.
Complicated scientific reactions take place when the electricity is fired. Carbon particles, or soot, generated in the flame can easily become charged which respond to the electric field, affecting the stability of flames.
'Combustion is first and foremost a chemical reaction – arguably one of the most important – but it's been somewhat neglected by most of the chemical community,' Dr Cademartiri added. 'We're trying to get a more complete picture of this very complex interaction.'
The researchers believe that futuristic electrical devices based on the phenomenon could be fixed on the ceilings of buildings or ships, similar to stationary water sprinklers now in use. Firefighters might even carry the flame-tamer in the form of a backpack and distribute the electricity to fires using a hand-held wand. The device would then make a path for firefighters to enter a fire or create an escape path for people to exit.
But although the electric wands would work best in enclosed spaces, they would not be as effective as water when dealing with large fires in opens spaces such as forests.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1370616/Fighting-volts-How-water-hoses-replaced-electric-wands.html#ixzz1Ht9iYbMM
