h a l f b a k e r yNot so much a thought experiment as a single neuron misfire.
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I'm just wondering how long it be before it gets "delivered" to the wrong house? |
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I foresee a problem. If the dome is light enough
to
be lofted by helicopter, it's going to be lifted by
the
updraught from a decent fire. |
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(Quick calculation: assume dome is 80ft in
diameter to cope with a modest detached house.
If hemispherical, volume will be about 2 x 40^3
=128,000 cubic feet. If the trapped air is at 80°C,
that gives a lift of about 1,280lb. So, the dome
would have to weight more than 1,300lb when
"cool".) |
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So make the "dome" from segments like flower petals. To avoid the updraft, deploy from beneath (I'm sure that the petals could be stacked inside a tunneling device that races mole-like through the earth to the fire site) |
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This idea assumes that the dome would form a perfect seal
with the ground. If there are any gaps around the edges,
all this will do is create jets of flame shooting back into
the burning structure, or worse, a backdraft bomb. |
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Isn't this how diesel engines work? |
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More or less, but more with the turning of shafts and less
with the burning of houses. Well-spotted, though. |
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Anything likely to smother flames and be fireproof is also likely to be a good insulator. So, the flammable bits of your house will remain at a high temperature but starved of oxygen while the device is on. Then, they'll explode into flames as soon as it's lifted. |
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//and less with the burning of houses. Well-spotted, though.// |
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You get my sarcasm bun, if one can be awarded for it... |
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Could you add pockets around the edges, that firefighters on the ground could fill, using water jets, to help prevent updrafts/jets of flame/etc? |
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Or indeed, sandbags. Driving a fire engine onto the edge. Heat-activaed spring-loaded tent pegs. Something. |
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[UB] once posted a rocket propelled fire blanket idea similar to this. |
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not_morrison_rm why would that comment be sarcasm? Can you prove that a concave mass heavy enough to fall evenly over a burning house fire will not compress a column of air that is also being drawn inwards by the fire, and that the compression of the air will also not generate significant heat, and also not contain significant oxygen, and that it subsequently will not detonate? |
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Since the dome is (presumably) not flammable, why not
just live inside that? |
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//the dome would have to weight more than 1,300lb when "cool".// Then it's a good thing helicopters can lift 10x that. |
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[Alterother], the plumbing might be a little bothersome. Or rather, lack therof. |
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The dome would have to come equipped with a
chainsaw to remove all shrubbery, fences and carports
etc adjacent to the shed as well as insulated
wirecutters to remove telephone wires and powerlines
attached to the house. |
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Have a wander around where you're living now
and see if there is a perfectly clear perimeter around
the entire dwelling which would allow a dome or even
acube shape to sit down around it. Unless you live in
the Little House on the Prairie I doubt one house in
1000 would be suitable without massive, time-
consuming remedial work on the ground. |
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It could be useful for oil well fires. |
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It's been tried, and apparently sometimes works, but the
major problem with that idea is that oil wells have oil
coming out of them under great pressure, making it
difficult to get the dome on there in the first place. |
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This is like my nitrogen-filled house idea. |
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Is that the one that asphyxiates all the occupants so they
won't suffer the agony of burning to death? |
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Only if they want. Fires are unlikely in a house filled with nitrogen, food would spoil more slowly and pests would suffocate. It's just that everyone has to use breathing equipment to survive. |
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