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Sapphire: A Liquid That Won't Get Things Wet
eaglebtc writes "Tuesday on Good Morning America, a representative from Tyco Fire & Security demonstrated an amazing new substance called Sapphire: a water-like fluid that does not get things wet. He filled a small fish tank with Sapphire and submerged a book, a laptop, and a flat panel TV. Both electronics were turned on when submerged; all three items came out completely unharmed. Click here for a slideshow of the demonstration. The official name for Sapphire is actually Novec 1230. Read about it here (PDF). Tyco sees practical applications of Sapphire in fire extinguisher systems for museums and libraries. By the same token of practicality, regular readers of Slashdot probably have something else in mind: total-immersion watercooling. Just think of the possibilities!"
You haven't explained why you think my argument is bogus.
Considering I'm both a computer (programming) and chemistry geek, I think I can reasonably say I know a thing or two about what I'm talking about. In fact, I still have the lecture notes from the day we talked about this very topic in p-chem, and I remember the prof saying that it's a common misconception that water extinguishes fires by way of displacing oxygen.
Nowhere did I mention "magic." What you call magic is the flow of thermal energy -- and in centuries past was in fact considered magic. It's not.
I suspect that we may both be right, in a way. It's true that dumping water on a fire does cover the area that is burning and would temporarily prevent local sites in the combustible material from getting oxygen. But dumping water on a fire cannot drive all the oxygen off -- as I said, only gas-based systems such as Halon do that.
Your argument about grease fires is well noted and completely true. That's one of the prime reasons you're supposed to read the type of fire extinguisher (A, B, or C, or all of the above) before putting out such a fire.
As a scientist, I accept the possibility that I may be wrong, but I place the burden upon you to prove it. I am using, as you say, "'big' science words like 'endothermic'" because for one, they're the correct terms -- take a chemistry class or two -- and because a significant portion of the audience here on Slashdot is well educated. I am not simply bandying about big words to make myself look important -- I studied this stuff so I could make arguments like this and actually [i]know[/i] what I'm talking about.
What is your field, by the way?