Last summer can be considered one of the hottest in modern history. It is not surprising that this year in Russia and worldwide was blown by a massive fire, which destroyed a great part of the forests. To put out a fire so strong you sometimes don’t for months and it spent millions of rubles — so why would a firefighter not to cover the trees with a fire-raising? So the likelihood of fire would be reduced in several times but, unfortunately, current fire gels quickly washed off by rain and lose their effectiveness. Recently, scientists from the us state of California has solved this problem by developing a new composition, allowing the gel to remain on the surface of the trees more time.
In 2019 forest fires raged in Siberia and the Amazon
As a rule, means of fire sprayed over the forests with planes. Their main components are natural flame retardants like boron and ammonium chloride, mixed with stabilizers which force them to work longer than usual. These funds are actively absorb moisture and prevent the fire from spreading throughout the tree, but in case of strong wind or rain they quickly washed away with trunks and the forest once again left without protection. Look how scary the fires can be viewed in the video below.
How to prevent forest fires?
Researchers from Stanford University (California) were able to increase the efficiency and durability of fire-fighting equipment, adding to their composition of cellulose. It is an organic compound, widely used in food, medical and agricultural products, longer holds means on the surface of the trees and slows down the evaporation of entrapped water. As a result, the forest is under the more lasting protection, which for a long time and achieved fire.
Forest fires really look very scary
New fire-fighting agent be tested on flowering plants called adenostoma (Adenostoma fasciculatum). Put on them the vehicle was able to protect them from exposure to fire, even after the loss of the heavy rain. This is an excellent result, given that current funds are almost completely washed off from the plants for several hours. Besides, the developed tool consists entirely of natural materials and will not damage the environment — according to the researchers, the benefits of this tool very much.
It looks like the plants of Adenostoma fasciculatum
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Impacts of forest fires
Of course, this is an extremely useful development, because because of forest fires, killing not only trees but also animals with people. Probably smog from fires 2019 came to your city, which is why some people can feel discomfort. The fact that even one breath of smoke from the burning fire can cause in the human body irreversible consequences. The reason they are contained in the forest smoke particles with a thickness less than a human hair, which are easy to get into the bloodstream and can cause weakening of the immune system and further susceptibility to infectious diseases.
On why forest smoke is much more dangerous radiation, can be read in our special article.
In General, humanity has other tools to prevent fires, but they are not yet used. Recently, researchers from the University named after Brigham young studied the characteristics of the fire and developed a computer model for predicting forest fires for 20 minutes before they occur. Sounds pretty cool, but when all of these technologies will be used extensively, it is not yet clear.