A new weapon to fight fires
- A new electric wand promises to be the firefighting tool of the future.
“Fire extinguishers may soon be a thing of the past: Wave a magic electric wand at a flame and you can snuff it out in milliseconds, according to Dr. Ludovico Cademartiri,” The Guardian reports.
According to The Guardian article, a paper presented to the American Chemical Society, CademartiriÂ’s Harvard University team reported that they had been able to extinguish an 18-inch [45-centimetre] flame merely by using an electrified metal wire. The beam of electricity came from a 600-watt amplifier, about the same power as a car stereo system so, the firefighter of the future would only need an ultra-portable power pack and wire rather than a cumbersome hose and large quantities of water or foam.
How does it work, though?
It’s based on the observation made some 200 years ago, that electricity can change the shape of flames. Previous experiments involved direct current, or DC. But Cademartiri’s group used oscillating AC voltage… creating an organized ‘flow’ of charged particles inside the flame that literally pushes the flame away from the fuel source, putting it out.
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WASHINGTON - A recent Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities' rate case order changes the way solar net metering works and eliminates optional residential time-of-use rates, stirring controversy between clean energy advocates and utility Eversource.
"There is a lot of room to talk about what net-energy metering should look like, but a demand charge is an unfair way to charge customers," Mark LeBel, staff attorney at non-profit clean energy advocacy organization Acadia Center, said in a Tuesday phone call. Acadia Center is an intervenor in the rate case and opposed the changes.
The Friday MDPU order implements demand charges…
