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FIRE SAFETY => Portable Firefighting Equipment => Topic started by: Tom W on March 30, 2011, 03:57:42 PM

Title: Fighting Fire with electricity?
Post by: Tom W on March 30, 2011, 03:57:42 PM
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2011/mar/29/how-fight-fire-with-electricity
Title: Re: Fighting Fire with electricity?
Post by: Dinnertime Dave on March 30, 2011, 06:04:28 PM

The Guardian does have a reputation for getting things wrong - is this two days early?
Title: Re: Fighting Fire with electricity?
Post by: SamFIRT on March 30, 2011, 06:21:41 PM
National geographic have it as well.  :o

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/03/110329-electric-wands-fire-firefighters-extinguish-science-harvard-chemical/ (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/03/110329-electric-wands-fire-firefighters-extinguish-science-harvard-chemical/)

It’s very interesting. Baring in mind that the Visible light and IR emanating from the chemical reaction that is fire, is EM radiation, it seems plausible that an EM field could be used in this way. There is only Physics all else is stamp collecting (Kelvin).

Be interesting to see if it is an early fool or breaking science.

Who the hell has a 600W car stereo though?  ;D
Title: Re: Fighting Fire with electricity?
Post by: Tom Sutton on March 30, 2011, 07:40:54 PM
Take your choice and there is more.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2011/03/200-year-old-technology-fights-fires-with-electricity.php

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Electricity-Could-Replace-Water-in-Fighting-Fire-191690.shtml

http://science.slashdot.org/story/11/03/29/0249246/Fighting-Fires-With-Beams-of-Electricity

http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2011-03/future-firefighters-could-fight-fire-blasts-flame-bending-electricity

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1370616/Fire-fighting-water-hoses-replaced-electric-wands.html

http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2011-03/28/fighting-fire-with-electricity

Title: Re: Fighting Fire with electricity?
Post by: Tom W on March 31, 2011, 09:13:22 AM
If it is a fools joke its an eloborate one as so many websites have published it.

Speaking of which can we make our own April fools joke? anyone got a good rouse?
Title: Re: Fighting Fire with electricity?
Post by: colin todd on March 31, 2011, 09:06:21 PM
Piggie, How about telling your boss that the doctor is coming to visit him for dinner.
Title: Re: Fighting Fire with electricity?
Post by: tmprojects on April 01, 2011, 12:07:30 AM
If it is a fools joke its an eloborate one as so many websites have published it.

Speaking of which can we make our own April fools joke? anyone got a good rouse?

In an Announcement today by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson. Colin Todd was confirmed as the new councillor to replace Brian Coleman as head of the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority.

Colin said of his new appointment 'I have always admired the work of the LFEPA, and look forward to becoming the figurehead that represents the LFEPA in all its good work'.

Title: Re: Fighting Fire with electricity?
Post by: Clevelandfire 3 on April 01, 2011, 02:27:00 AM
I have deleted the content of this post as it made unubstantiated potential allegations. kurnal.


No it doesnt kurnal
Title: Re: Fighting Fire with electricity?
Post by: CivvyFSO on April 01, 2011, 10:34:45 AM
Cademartiri thinks the method could be a more sophisticated way of putting out fires "than just throwing water at them"

So it moves the flame away from the fuel? Absolute genius. Isn't that how we have been able to blow candles out for quite a few years now?

I think water can feel quite safe as an extinguishing medium until they find a way of cooling the affected area with their electric wands.

There is so much wrong with this that I do not know where to start.
Title: Re: Fighting Fire with electricity?
Post by: fireftrm on April 02, 2011, 11:28:22 AM
The 'idea' of affecting the electrically charged particles within the flame is very accurate science. Indeed we are (or should be) fully aware of how we already extinguish fires by affecting these particles. Dry powder does just that, it breaks down into 'free radicals' - i.e. +ve and -ve charged particles which can them react with any others around. They then undergo a chemical reaction with those in the flame (which is the combustion area) in a much less exothermic and not light-emitting one than the combustion one. An electrical field should be able to do the same by taking out one side of the chemical reaction through neutralising the +ve, or -ve charged radicals.  Of course managing to do this in a controlled laboratory environment is quite different to producing a practical real world example.
Title: Re: Fighting Fire with electricity?
Post by: SamFIRT on April 02, 2011, 09:18:35 PM
Quote
Dry powder does just that, it breaks down into 'free radicals' - i.e. +ve and -ve charged particles which can them react with any others around. They then undergo a chemical reaction with those in the flame

as does halon

Quote
Of course managing to do this in a controlled laboratory environment is quite different to producing a practical real world example.

I bet this was said to Marconi in the late 19th C.  ;)
Title: Re: Fighting Fire with electricity?
Post by: fireftrm on April 10, 2011, 12:01:12 PM
As does halon ................ indeed but then again halon is banned

To Marconi - yep and he succeeded, maybe these people will too, but so far they have only managed to divert and prevent a very small flame in a lab. Like any part of science this is only the first step.