New Delhi: Foam, water, or powder as fire extinguishers are so old-school. How about a sound producing fire extinguisher that doesn't use any of the conventional elements to douse the flames?
Engineering students, Viet Tran and Seth Robertson, from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, have developed a prototype of a fire extinguisher that uses waves produced by a low-frequency sound to displace oxygen and extinguish the fire.
A report on Cnet stated that the idea has been toyed with over the years when DARPA demonstrated an acoustic extinguisher in 2012, following prior experiments from other researchers.
However, for the first time, the handheld extinguisher has been developed that works on the same idea that if you can suffocate a fire, you can extinguish it. The engineer duo set to create low frequencies- 30 to 60 herts- called 'Goldilocks zone', which were able to effectively keep the oxygen from the flames long enough to suffocate them.
It consists of the sound frequency generator, a small amplifier, and a collimator made out of a cardboard tube with a hole at the end to focus the waves in a specific direction.
Although still a prototype, the device is being further tested for its efficiency in dousing larger fires. It is hoped that it could revolutionise firefighting, particularly in homes.
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