George Mason Students Create Revolutionary Fire Extinguisher That Uses Sound Waves to Blow Out Fires

If you haven’t seen it already: two George Mason University engineering students — Viet Tran and Seth Robertson — have created a potentially revolutionary device, a new-fangled fire extinguisher, that uses low-frequency sound waves to snuff out fires. According to TechExplore, Tran (a computer engineering major) and Seth Robertson (double e major) “started with the simple idea that sound waves are also mechanical or  (due to the back and forth motion of the medium in which they pass through), which can cause an impact on objects.” Through trial and error, the students figured out that ultra-high frequencies didn’t do very much, but lower frequencies (in the 30 to 60 Hertz range) can blow a small fire right out. Just watch above.

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