Please, You Still Put Your Fires Out With Water?

[NexusOfLight]

I use electricity. That's right electricity. How you ask? Well, if I told you, I'd have to kill you, find out on your own. As for me, I'm headin' back to the future.

So picture this. A curtain of flame halts firefighters trying to rescue a family inside a burning home. One with a special backpack steps to the front, points a wand at the flame, and shoots a beam of electricity that opens a path through the flame for the others to pass and lead the family to safety.

Does that sound too far fetched to believe? I know that's what I thought when I read over it, but apparently scientists have discovered that this could actually be a thing. They're not quite sure how this works, but they were messin' around and 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. Much to their fascination, it worked time and again. The device consisted of a 600-watt amplifier, or about the same power as a high-end car stereo system, but this Ludovico Cademartiri fellow thinks that only a tenth of that's needed to produce a similar result. Cademartiri an' his crew are still lookin' into this, but they totally see firefighters carryin' these new "Fire-Tamers" around in the future.

www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/03/110327191034.htm

[Power NeXus]

And they have no idea how it works?

[NexusOfLight]

No, they've got some idea. From what I've read, it looks like they don't know every single thing that goes into making it happen. From the article:

But how does it work? Cademartiri acknowledged that the phenomenon is complex with several effects occurring simultaneously. Among these effects, it appears that carbon particles, or soot, generated in the flame are key for its response to electric fields. Soot particles can easily become charged. The charged particles respond to the electric field, affecting the stability of flames, he said.

"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," said Cademartiri. "We're trying to get a more complete picture of this very complex interaction."

Cademartiri also reported how he and his colleagues found that electrical waves can control the heat and distribution of flames. As a result, the technology could potentially improve the efficiency of a wide variety of technologies that involve controlled combustion, including automobile engines, power plants, and welding and cutting torches, he said.

[Erik-El]

This is so awesome, I just had a geekgasm.

[Matezoide]

does that means Fire pokemon will be weak against Electric pokemon on the next games?

[Power NeXus]

So it's official now. Static beats Human Torch.