Have you ever heard about fire whirls? Well, they are taking place during wildfires. Even though they do not last more than a few minutes, they can be a real threat and cause major damage. However, according to the new study made a team from the University of Maryland, we can use fire whirls as long as we can control them.
- According to the latest news, researchers discovered Blue Whirl, a small and more stable flame version of the fire whirl. This is a huge discovery for the safety of our planet.
- They are now trying to control it as the blue whirl could burn up the oil without producing any harm for the atmosphere or in the water.
Blue whirl is a smaller and more stable flame version of the phenomenon. Michael Gollner, one of the authors of the study, said that a fire tornado had long been seen as that incredibly scary, destructive thing. However, just like electricity, if researchers are able to understand it, maybe they can also control it.
As you have already known, traditional fire whirls burn with a yellow colour. This happens due to the fact that the fire can’t consume its fuel. So how can this whirl be blue? Well, it has more access to oxygen and completely combusts their fuel, burning quickly.
The blue whirl was discovered while the scientists were investigating how to use fire whirls to clean up oil spills. They noticed that the yellow swirl stabilized and turned into a blue one. What they are going to do with this discovery? It seems that the researchers believe they can produce blue whirls that could burn up the oil without producing any harm for the atmosphere or in the water. Nowadays, they are using booms to collect the oil and this option is not very good for our planet.
As we know, climate change and global warming are huge issues. Pollution is the main cause why there are happening and we should find ways to improve the situation. Nature has helped us many times during the years so the blue whirl could be another chance to prove this.
The researchers managed to create a stable blue whirl for about eight minutes and they are going to make it last even longer. We are hoping that there will be more and more ways to protect our planet and keep the danger away.
Image source: Public domain pictures
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