This isn't very high tech, but it's amazing nonetheless. Learn how to, step by step, make a golfball-sized fireball that you can toss around in your hands. Impress your friends! Don't burn the house down! Seriously -- don't burn the house down.
via wonderhowto.com
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This isn't very high tech, but it's amazing nonetheless. Learn how to, step-by-step, make a golfball-sized fireball that you can toss around in your hands. Impress your friends! Don't burn the house down! Seriously -- don't burn the house down.
via Wonderhowto.com
Want to recommend a video? Tweet it to @Discovery_News with the hashtag #GottaSeeVideos.
Don't miss today's Must-Read DNews Nuggets and you can watch Discovery Curiosity video here.
Read more about how acoustics can put out fires in our Discovery News analysis.
The US Defense Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has a new way to put out fires: with sound. Using specific frequencies and large speakers the agency puts out fire in "two-pronged attack." via NewScientist
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Don't miss today's Must-Read News Nuggets too!
DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) has developed a technique that extinguishes fire by using sound. And before you break out your stereo to full blast the next time your dinner catches on fire, let’s remember that this experiment was done in a controlled space with trained professionals.
TREEHUGGER: DARPA's 'Wall of Sound' Extinguishes Fires Using Just Noise
In a video published on their website, two speakers are put on either side of a liquid fuel flame to demonstrate how this is done. As Wired explains, “The sound increases air velocity, which then thins the area of the flame where combustion occurs, known as the flame boundary. Once the boundary area is thinned, the flame is easier to extinguish.”
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The Instant Fire Suppression project was launched to find new ways to stamp out flames in enclosed areas, like cockpits, ship holds and ground vehicles -- where they're difficult to control. While the idea of manipulating fire goes back to the early 1900s, this is one of the first examples of extensive research in the area.
via Wired
Credit: DARPA
A report released by the Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission has concluded that the Japanese nuclear accident and meltdown last year could and should have been prevented.
The exhaustive 641-page report was sharply critical of the Japanese government and plant operator’s claims that the accident was the unavoidable result of an unpredictable double-disaster of a severe earthquake followed by a tsunami. In fact, the report noted that given the high number of earthquakes in Japan (and the well-known association of tsunamis with earthquakes), much more could have been done. Basic safety measures were ignored, backup systems were not implemented and government regulators who were charged with enforcing safety standards did not follow through.
PHOTOS: 3 Positive Outcomes from the Fukushima Nuclear Accident
Fukushima is the second preventable nuclear crisis in history. Though sometimes considered a technological failure, the nuclear meltdown at Russia’s Chernobyl power plant was a man-made disaster caused by human error. In 1986, a group of scientists intentionally deactivated several safety systems in order to test a cooling system at reactor 4. The experiment failed, leading to the worst nuclear accident of all time. There are several psychological and social factors common to both Chernobyl and Fukushima.
Underestimating Risk
In both nuclear accidents, the public and those running the reactors were assured that the risk of any accident -- much less a full-fledged core meltdown -- was so remote that it need not be of concern.
As a New York Times story noted, “Tepco [the plant’s operator] has contended that the plant withstood the earthquake that rocked eastern Japan, instead placing blame for the disaster on what some experts have called a ‘once in a millennium’ tsunami that followed. Such a rare calamity was beyond the scope of contingency planning, Tepco executives have suggested, and was unlikely to pose a threat to Japan’s other nuclear reactors in the foreseeable future.”
By portraying the risk of accident as unimaginably rare (“once in a millennium”), Tepco officials overstated its safety. As Zhores Medvedev notes in his book The Legacy of Chernobyl (1990, W.W. Norton), the same minute risk mentality pervaded the culture at Chernobyl; one plant operator said that “in the classrooms of their institutions [nuclear reactor technician students] had beaten into their heads: a reactor cannot explode.... And it was only in October 1986 that the regulations were changed to include the grim warning: ‘When there are fewer than 30 [nuclear reaction dampening] rods the reactor goes into a situation of nuclear danger.’”
The irony is that in both cases the risk of accident actually was very remote -- assuming that established safety protocols were followed.
Culture of Complacency
In both nuclear accidents there was an entrenched culture of complacency. Corners were often cut and safety procedures ignored. At Chernobyl the danger of a nuclear meltdown was systematically downplayed and rules became lax. Igor Kazachkov, one of the shift operators at Chernobyl, stated “We didn’t have any foolproof safeguards against this particular thing happening... There are lots of safeguards but nothing that controls the number of rods. We have often had less than the required number of rods [controlling the reaction] and nothing happened. No explosion, everything proceeded normally.”
HOWSTUFFWORKS: How a Nuclear Reactor Works
In other words, the plant had operated safely and things turned out okay when safety rules were ignored, so operators became complacent. This is human nature, and can be seen in the psychology of drunk drivers who think, “Well, the last few times I drove home safely, so I can do it again.” Getting away with breaking the rules -- especially repeatedly -- makes the action seem less dangerous.
The Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation report also contained pointed criticism of the Japanese culture and its role in creating the disaster and failing to mitigate its aftermath. Kiyoshi Kurokawa, chairman of the commission, stated that “What must be admitted -- very painfully -- is that this was a disaster ‘Made in Japan.’ Its fundamental causes are to be found in the ingrained conventions of Japanese culture: our reflexive obedience; our reluctance to question authority; our devotion to ‘sticking with the program’; our groupism; and our insularity.” The problem was so pervasive, Kurokawa noted, that “Had other Japanese been in the shoes of those who bear responsibility for this accident, the result may well have been the same.”
After each high profile accident there are reports and investigations calling for changes to be implemented to make sure it “never happens again.” The nuclear power industry did not learn lessons from Chernobyl, and likely will not learn lessons from Fukushima. There will be future nuclear accidents of this scale--and probably worse. Not because the technology isn't improving, for it surely is, but because humans are the weak link, and human nature will continue to endanger us all.
Photo: The underground water storage tank installation at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station as seen on June 18, 2012. Credit: Tepco / Jana Press
The Waldo Canyon wildfire that exploded into Colorado Springs this week created Jerry Bruckheimer-esque scenes. The fire has already claimed about 300 houses and displaced thousands of people. A local computer programmer hoping to help just released a Web-based app that organizes the onslaught of fire-related updates.
TOP 10: Social Networking Sites
Colorado Springs resident and 20-year-old computer programmer Robbie Trencheny lives about five miles from the fire. He told CNN's Amy Gahran that as an avid Twitter user he wanted to make it easier for residents to keep up with news about the fire. So he and another programmer, Scott Siebold, spent less than an hour coding a Web-based app to do that.
"We figured we'd use our tech skills to help, since not many people in Colorado Springs have the skills to do this quickly," he told Gahran.
The result is the Waldo Canyon Fire Tracker. Instead of an app that you have to download, it's a Web page that displays tweets containing hashtags such as #WaldoCanyonFire in the middle, posted photos on the left column and official messages to the right. Preferences can be set to show or not show retweets, to pause the updates, and enable sound to indicate new tweets. Official updates will ding no matter what your sound preferences.
HOWSTUFFWORKS: Can You Really Fight Fire with Fire?
I loaded the app about an hour ago and so far it's been interesting to watch, and it's easy to see how this page could be more useful than downloadable apps like HootSuite or TweetDeck that allow you to track a hashtag. With TweetDeck I'm only able to get a single column of #WaldoCanyonFire tweets.
The Waldo Canyon Fire Tracker isn't perfect. In Chrome, the center column tweets started bleeding into the right-hand column with official messages and enabling sound didn't always work. That said, for spending 45 minutes coding while the fire only got closer, it's still a potentially helpful app. The programmers told CNN they're going to continue working on it and might add pages for other fires in the state.
Beyond this Web-based app, there are several other real-time applications that help users track wildfires. The Geospatial Multi-Agency Coordination Group (GeoMAC) is an Internet-based mapping app that shows fires nationwide in its viewer. You can jump to a specific fire and zoom into satellite images. But nothing really conveys the enormity of this natural disaster like the photos being posted to social media sites. See this.
Credit: A photo of Waldo Canyon wildfire invading Colorado Springs that appeared in a new Web app that tracks it. Credit: Twitter user @ZombieStephi
First there was the spray-on tan, and now comes the spray-on skin cells. A new device can spray a burn victim's own skin cells onto damaged skin and dramatically reduce how much time it takes for burn patient to recover.
The Skin-Cell Gun, as it's called, earned that nickname because it basically works like a more complicated spray-paint gun. A doctor takes a biopsy from the patient's undamaged skin to isolate the healthy stem cells. A water-based solution containing those healthy stem cells is then sprayed on the burn, and the patient is on the fast track to recovery. It was through study of stem cells that allowed other researchers to develop a new approach that transforms skin cells into beating heart cells.
The process was first developed in 2008 by Professor Joerg C. Gerlach and colleagues at the Department of Surgery at the University of Pittsburg’s McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine.
Skin Cells Switch to Beating Heart Cells
The Skin-Cell gun process only takes an hour and a half from start to finish, compared to the old method using skin grafts that can take weeks or even months. According to PhysOrg, that process involves taking skin sections from uninjured parts of the patient’s body, or growing sheets of skin artificially, and grafting them over the burn.
The difference in recovery time is equally drastic between the two methods. While it can take several weeks for a patient to recover using traditional treatment, the Skin-Cell Gun process takes just a few days for a full recovery.
The National Geographic Channel recently produced a short video segment that looks at the Skin-Cell Gun. It's worth a view, but there are some mildly disturbing images of several skin damage:
Photo courtesy Jorg Gerlach, University of Pittsburgh
Wildfires that produce a lot of smoke are difficult to manage because the source of fire can be hard to see. From the air, firefighting units typically use infrared cameras to help spot the hottest and most intense parts of a fire. But when conditions are far to dusty and smokey, the infrared technology is not effective.
Researchers at Fraunhofer Institute for High Frequency Physics and Radar Techniques in Wachtberg, Germany, have developed a sensor that can see through the smoke. It works at a much lower frequency than the infrared sensors, and is less affected by dust particles. It can also see down through thick foliage to locate hidden areas of fire.
"Particles of dust and smoke are practically transparent in the microwave range, but the radiation is still strong enough for the source of a fire to be detected," said team leader Nora von Wahl. "From a height of 100 meters, we were able to locate fires measuring five meters by five meters in low visibility conditions,” she said.
The system is also quite effective for locating fires that are smoldering beneath the top layer of earth -- a problem that occurs with wildfires thought to have been snuffed out.
Photo: George Frey-Pool/Getty Images
The most destructive fire in Colorado's history began burning through the tinder-dry brush west of Boulder earlier this month and ultimately destroyed more than 170 homes over at least 6,000 acres. Closing my windows tight on the smoke permeating the city, I started asking: What kind of advanced technology do we have to fight fire? And what exactly is in that slurry they douse on fires from airplanes or helicopters?
To be clear, I wasn't in any immediate danger being on the eastern side of town. Those in the Fourmile Canyon wildfire's path, however, suffered terrible loss and heartbreak. Fortunately no one died, but several homes that burned belonged to firefighters, including the home of the volunteer firefighter accused of starting it when embers from the fire pit he had doused repeatedly with water reignited.
With local firefighters converging at the fire, I reached Mike Simons, a firefighter with Metro West Fire in a suburb of Denver. He explained that a key difference between fighting an urban fire and a wildfire is that the approach is not so much about fighting it, but containing it. So when you see water and retardant being dropped during a wildfire, it's not to put out the flames but to make a line where the fire can't pass through.
"There’s certainly technology involved, but bottom line is that it’s a lot of hard work. The basis is taking the fuel away," he told me.
I'll admit that I've always wondered just what's in the slurry doused on wilderness. The exact contents of fire retardants that are either sprayed on trees or dropped from planes are known to the manufacturers, but the USDA has stringent rules for what retardants can contain, and how much testing they have to undergo prior to approval. Foams are mostly water mixed with surfectant, foaming agents and dispersants. Among the unacceptable ingredients for USDA approved foams: polychlorinated biphenols (PCBs), sodium ferrocyanide, and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs).
Long-term retardants are mostly water with fertilizer, some other ingredients and an added red that comes from iron oxide. That's the red stuff you'll see being dropped from planes -- the red is so firefighters can see where it went, and the color fades with exposure to light. Gels are sometimes sprayed onto structures, and they mostly contain water with some thickener.
But even the best retardant might not be able to hold the line. "The problem is you get these really high winds and the high heat that evaporates the retardant they’re trying to put down," Simons said. "You might have a four lane highway, but the winds will just push the fire right across it."
In looking for sustainable fire tech, I came across relatively new fire retardant coating that releases water when fire hits it. The patented barrier is called Pyrotite and it's made by the Minnesota-based company International Barrier Technology, Inc., which specializes in fire-resistant building materials. According to CEO Mike Huddy, Pyrotite is a molecule with a crystalline structure that "binds" hydrogen and oxygen molecules in the lumber, releasing water once the wood reaches 475 degrees F. He says that the coating is made entirely of inert, inorganic materials and doesn't contain any hazardous compounds.
Residents in the Fourmile Canyon area are planning on rebuilding, which creates an opportunity to do so in a more sustainable, fire-resistant way. The Boulder Green Building Guild is going to hold an open house in early October so local architects and builders can share their expertise with those who lost homes.
Now when I smell smoke or hear fire engines roaring down the street, I do get a pang. Wildfires have a new meaning. "It’s an unbelievable force," Simons said. "It’s like trying to stop a tornado."
Photo: The Fourmile Canyon wildfire looms above Boulder on September 5. Credit: Zach Dischner.
Recently, Discovery News Tech did a piece on motorcycles powered entirely by electricity. Sure, that's cool and all, but electric bikes just don't get my blood pumping quite like a fire-fighting motorcycle.
Fire departments around the world are starting to use specially designed motorcycles to respond to emergency calls. The latest is the Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service in England, which has begun testing two firefighting motorcycles as part of a six-month feasibility trial.
Each bike is a BMW RT1200 police-spec motorcycle that comes with two 25-liter water tanks and a 30-meter hose that sprays water and a special fire-retardant foam.
Now, these motorcycles can't the replace the heavy duty fire trucks for large house fires, or anything like that. Rather, they are meant to respond quickly to small fires that could get out of control, if not put out quickly.
The fire department's Deputy Chief Fire Officer Mike Hagen told Gizmag that, "We used to send a fire engine with a full crew to tackle (small fires), but we want these appliances available for emergencies where life or property are at risk. We have looked at alternative ways to tackle these incidents and these fire bikes offer a new, exciting possibility."
Hagen also says that small "anti-social behavior fires" account for 62 percent of the fires that his department responds to.
These bikes will use a lot less gas than the bulky fire engines that currently respond to small fires. [via Gizmag]
Credit: Tony Thomas/Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service in England
