Your new post is loading...
Naturally occurring fire tornadoes are scary, but a new clean-burning, controlled version could help clean oil spills
Traditional fire whirls produced in forest fires or urban fires burn with a yellow color, which occurs when the fire is not able to completely consume its fuel and produces soot. Blue whirls, however, have access to more oxygen and completely combust their fuel, burning quickly and much more cleanly.
According to their paper, the researchers discovered the whirl while investigating the possibility of using fire whirls to clean up oil spills. As they produced the whirls using a stream of heptane gas pumped through a tray of water, they watched as the yellow swirl stabilized and settled into the stable blue phase. They believe that the stable blue whirl forms because of the water barrier.
Interesting - we're discovering a new type of fire...