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#11
08-21-2007, 11:18 AM
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Re: What\'s best for putting out fires: water, sand, dirt??
Most volume/mass and therefore able to put out the largest fire?
EDIT another reason is I've never heard of firefighter planes dropping sand or dirt. I'll trust the pros on this one. 
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#12
08-21-2007, 11:27 AM
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Re: What\'s best for putting out fires: water, sand, dirt??
Im pretty sure he knows why, he is a physics professor.
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#13
08-21-2007, 01:03 PM
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Re: What\'s best for putting out fires: water, sand, dirt??
[ QUOTE ]
specific heat? or whatever the C in Q=MC deltaT is? [/ QUOTE ] Partially. More importantly, latent heat of vaporization. It takes a hell of a lot of energy to turn water into steam. All dumping sand on a fire does is smother it by cutting off the oxygen source. This is why coals from a fire can stay glowing hot for hours and hours after having been buried. Also, sand is actually a pretty damp good insulator, so the heat does not conduct out of the coals very rapidly.
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#14
08-21-2007, 01:05 PM
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Re: What\'s best for putting out fires: water, sand, dirt??
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ] Water. I'll let others elaborate. [/ QUOTE ] I.E. He just wanted to state something, but otherwise he doesn't know, or is too lazy to tell you why. [/ QUOTE ] It's the latter. [ QUOTE ] I hate the phrases do you see why, and I'll let others elaborate. If you have the answer give it to us. [/ QUOTE ] I love them. Do you see why? I'll let others elaborate.
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#15
08-21-2007, 01:17 PM
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Re: What\'s best for putting out fires: water, sand, dirt??
10 beers worth of pee usually gets a fire out for me
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#16
08-21-2007, 03:03 PM
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Re: What\'s best for putting out fires: water, sand, dirt??
[ QUOTE ]
Partially. More importantly, latent heat of vaporization. It takes a hell of a lot of energy to turn water into steam. [/ QUOTE ] Right, but then the water is gone and the fire keeps generating energy from available combustibles. Sand won't be vaporized. But sand is roughly twice as heavy as water, per volume unit, iirc.
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#17
08-22-2007, 09:18 PM
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Re: What\'s best for putting out fires: water, sand, dirt??
True, sand is a lot heavier, but it depends on the area of the fire. If it is a smaller forest fire( key words on forest meaning oxygen reliant combustibles) then sand would be the best because it smothers it, and is easiest to target on an area. if it a non-oxygen reliant combustible(coal) water is the best because it sucks out the energy of the fire instead of cutting off one of the elements needed(oxygen). it just depends on the situation.
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#19
08-22-2007, 10:11 PM
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Re: What\'s best for putting out fires: water, sand, dirt??
[ QUOTE ]
True, sand is a lot heavier, but it depends on the area of the fire. If it is a smaller forest fire( key words on forest meaning oxygen reliant combustibles) then sand would be the best because it smothers it, and is easiest to target on an area. if it a non-oxygen reliant combustible(coal) water is the best because it sucks out the energy of the fire instead of cutting off one of the elements needed(oxygen). it just depends on the situation. [/ QUOTE ] What in the world makes you think coal combustion isn't reliant on oxygen?
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