Tom Jackman/Washington Post
Two students at George Mason University are on their way to revolutionizing the way we fight fires, and they are doing it in a totally mess-free, water-free way: sound waves.
Seth Robertson and Viet Tran are two students at George Mason University and they’ve come up with a portable sound device that uses sound waves to potentially replace fire extinguishers. At a certain level, sound waves are also pressure waves, meaning they displace oxygen. They found that between 30 and 60 hertz, fires were distinguished within seconds.
So far, Tran and Robertson’s invention works well on small fires
and hope to be a cost effective alternative to fire extinguishers. (Barbara Sax/AFP/Getty Images)
Tran and Robertson have a provisional patent, which means they have a year to do future tests on other flammable chemicals. So far the fires they’ve been able to put out with their self made device were started from rubbing alcohol and contained. Larger fires may not be a good candidate for this new technology but it will take time to develop and experiment. Both are set to graduate in May with job offers on the horizon.
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