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
Appel also points out that his gels are environmentally friendly, and composed only of materials that are already approved for use by the US Forestry Service. When eventually washed off, the aerogel is handily broken down by soil microbes.
What a neat discovery. It’s something you can potentially spray on things to protect them and it just washes. I’m guessing it’s harder to manage once it gets cooked so to speak.
Anyone else read that as „morphine spray-on gel…“?
… … … … crickets … … … 😄
Silica gel is extremely expensive, so, if you have this much money, install a pole with a big sprinkler on top outside.
I’m concerned that this would require a continuous supply of water at a flow rate that might not be realistic.
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.
