Extinguishing Fire With Sound

[Messy]

Clever stuff and perhaps one to watch

http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/mar/27/students-fire-extinguisher-sound-waves

Can you image a VAS where a sound is used to raise the alarm and simultaneously suppress the fire???

[John Webb]

They've only tried it out on small fires, and it seems that the frequency needs some 'fine-tuning' to achieve the required result. I have my doubts about extending the results to larger fires involving several materials and burning irregularly rather than a small and fairly stable liquid fuel fire of the sort they were using. I would imagine the power requirement for larger fires would become much higher, and we might well end up deafening the operator(s) and anyone else in the vicinity. But it's nice to see someone doing a bit of lateral thinking.

Perhaps they could go on to look at 'Containment fields' which isolate the fire from atmospheric oxygen as used in Star Trek?

[SamFIRT]

Or look for a way to interrupt the chemical reaction at the molecular level using an electro magnetic field (rather than halogens which cause holes in ozone layers) . 

[kurnal]

Just one hard stare from my Mother in Law should do the trick. It certainly puts my fire out.

[jasper]

Or look for a way to interrupt the chemical reaction at the molecular level using an electro magnetic field (rather than halogens which cause holes in ozone layers) . 

Or they hydrate the hydrocarbons

[jayjay]

I've heard H20 works quite well and is free.

[SamFIRT]

Nothing in life is free Jayjay....... and my H2O company charges me quite a lot for mine....... 

[jayjay]

h2o for firefighting is free.

[Tom Sutton]

I am with you Jayjay https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/299993612/Publications/Guidance/Firefighting/national-guidance-document-on-water-for-ffg-final.pdf 

[SamFIRT]

Apart from the cost to the environment Jayjay. 

[jayjay]

Less harmfull than the products of combustion

[SamFIRT]

Not always. That is a RA that has to be made.