[cdg] Computer News - Fire-fighting fluid leaves computers intact
- From: "Donny Duncan" <ravers_deelite@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <cdg@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 5 Sep 2004 19:34:07 -0500
Pulled from NewScientist (www.newscientist.com)
Fire-fighting fluid leaves computers intact
Fires in computer centres, museums and libraries could be quenched with minimal
damage by a liquid that leaves electronic equipment and books dry and unharmed
even after they have been flooded with it.
Tyco Fire & Security of Boca Raton, Florida, US, has launched a fire
suppression system called Sapphire that detects smoke and then spritzes the
affected room with the liquid, which is known as Novec 1230.
The fluid, produced by 3M, has weak molecular bonds and vapourises at just 49°
Celsius, 51 degrees cooler than the temperature at which water boils. It stops
fires before they get out of control by soaking up heat from the nascent blaze.
"This is a chemical agent that absorbs heat and vapourises better than water,"
says Joe Behnke, a manager at Tyco Fire & Security. According to 3M's web site,
Novec 1230 requires 25 times less energy than water to evaporate.
Novec 1230's special properties were showcased on the US television show "Good
Morning America" this week, where a laptop computer - with its power on - and a
book were dunked in a large tank filled with the liquid. The laptop still
worked when it was pulled out, and the book dried within minutes.
Behnke explained the trick to New Scientist. The electronics had not shorted
out because the liquid is non-conductive, unlike water. And while "the liquid
did get into the components, their heat caused it to evaporate" into the air,
he says. The thin layer of liquid on the book's surfaces also evaporated
quickly.
Read more here:
http://www.newscientist.com/hottopics/tech/article.jsp?id=99994891&sub=Computing
Donny Duncan
http://www.computer-discounts-guide.com
http://www.making-an-online-living.com
http://www.satellitetv-reviews.com
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