A serendipitous discovery at Stanford revealed the properties of a material that changes form when exposed to flame. The finding holds promise for a spray coating that could protect homes from fire over four times as long as current solutions.

The researchers also say that current fire-resisting gels dry out and become useless about 45 minutes after being applied. With their new material however, because the silica aerogel stays behind until it is washed away, the coating could be applied well in advance of an approaching wildfire while still providing protection when the flames arrive

  • Not a replicantEnglish
    2•24 days ago

    I’ve got a fire suppression system. An agricultural sprinkler on each of the two roof peaks, fed by a pump from storage tanks. We’re off-grid (no mains) and already have the storage tanks - 2 x 22500litre/5000 gallons. With full tanks, the sprinklers should operate for ~7 hours, which is way more than necessary - three to four hours would be enough. The sprinklers “throw” interlocking circles of water, they intersect over the roof and saturate all the ground and foliage out to about 15 metres/50 feet. Water falling on the roof goes back into the tanks. The pump is electric, but being off-grd, we’ve got big batteries and a backup generator, so I’m confident the pump would run long enough for the fire to pass.

    • AndyEnglish
      1•24 days ago

      That sounds like some very cool engineering. I hope it sees as little use as possible, but I’m glad you’re prepared.