Yiannis Levendis, a professor of mechanical and industrial engineering at Northeastern University, has developed a prototype firefighting robot that sprays liquid nitrogen onto flames to extinguish them quickly. The project grew from a laboratory experiment in 2008, when Levendis was testing shredded tire rubber as a possible alternative fuel.
“Liquid nitrogen, when thrown on fire, quickly evaporates and expands into gas almost 1,000 percent,” Levendis said. “That suffocates the fire and creates a cooling effect on the fuel.”
He said the flames were extinguished almost immediately, prompting him to explore whether the same approach could be…
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