Here is an article I wrote to the local fire chief. He really got a kick out of it because it tied into a fire investigation class we were attending. Admittedly it got a couple people excited and thought it was real. When I explained to them that dihydrogen monoxide was simply water, they chuckled.Residual electrons a cause for concern?
Fire investigators have expressed concerns regarding residual electrons and the impact on fire origin. Can this be the hidden cause of undetermined fire origin? What should fire prevention officers be looking for to prevent potentially dangerous situation within our homes and places of employment. A greater understanding of residual electrons is the first step to prevention.
As most people are already aware, many times electricity is compared to water. The water starts at a source, gets pumped through a generator then pushed through large pipes until it gets to the outside of your house. From the outside it goes into a smaller pipe bringing water through the water meter, reduced down to smaller piping and eventually ending up at a fixture. Now this fixture could be a faucet, toilet or bathtub controlled by a valve to stop the flow of water when not needed by the consumer. If the valve is leaking, then water will pass through the faucet and be consumed either by going down the drain or creating a puddle on the floor.
If we look at the same theory with electricity, we start at the generator, passed high voltage along transmission lines into a transformer outside our homes. The service entrance conductor brings usable power into the home and connects to the circuit panel or main disconnect. From this disconnect, smaller wires connect onto circuit breakers and distribute electricity throughout our homes to many different devices. Each device has a different power demand, typically called watts, that makes it operate.
If we take a given branch circuit that is made up of a 12 gauge wire, and is capable of handling 20 amps of power, then that converts to 2400 watts of available energy going into that particular line. If on that line there is a table lamp, clock, stereo and a computer station, then let’s presume that the total demand of these appliances is 12.3 amp, or 1476 watts, then what happens to the remaining available electrons in the line. If we compare this to water, then we have what most would call a leak. In electrical terms it is called residual electrons.
We have all seen the results of residual electrons at some point in our lives. We have seen sparking from outlets, vacuum sweeper motors, and even the everyday light bulb is a product of residual electrons. The life expectancy of a light bulb is based on the capacity to store electrons. As the bulb fills with electrons, the life of the bulb shortens, eventually causing the bulb to “burn out”. Again compared to water, if you run water into a ballon, it will only take some much water until it eventually burst. Electrons have to be consumed through the appliances in our homes or there is a strong possibility that a build up will occur creating potentially dangerous conditions.
How can we protect ourselves from these hazards is still under investigation at some of the largest testing laboratories in the nation. Each appliance is designed to accept a certain amount of electrons until it will eventually stop working. Many companies will base their warranties on these numbers. All would be well and good if every home used the same appliances for the same amount of time each day but we know that does not happen. Each home will have a varying level of electron usage per day and what happens when a home is unused for any length of time due to vacation, sale of the property, or simply closing off an unused room. How do we protect our homes from residual electron damage?
One method that has been examined is the plastic caps inserted into the wall receptacles to prevent electrons from falling out when not in use. The thought behind this works well on the short term, but what happens when the caps are removed. If a plug is not inserted quickly into the receptacle, the electrons spill out onto the floor like a leaking bucket of water. This is the reason that extension cords are often determined to be the cause of fires. The cord gets left on the floor without protective caps and electrons flow out onto the carpet. If the cord has been pinched, then the electrons will spray out even further just like placing your finger over the end of a garden hose to make a farther spray. An independent lab has also been doing research on an electron flow trap that would be installed on each electrical service. The flow trap would register the average daily consumption of electrons to each home or business and shut down once the average has been exceeded by a given percentage. Although the flow traps have worked well under lab conditions, the real life application still allows electrons to flow, but will hopefully stop a build up from occurring that might result in a tragic situation.
As we examine the residual electrons and the effect that these conditions can have on fire investigation, the concern is amplified when mixed with dihydrogen monoxide. Like residual electrons, dihydrogen monoxide is present at almost every fire incident and when breathed may result in death. Firefighters have ignored repeated warnings about the dangers of breathing dihydrogen monoxide during firefighting or salvage and overhaul operations. If dihydrogen monoxide and residual electrons converge in a fire attack, or investigation after the fact, the result may be lethal. Together we must all strive for safe homes and work place environments. Each employer should be required to regulate and control residual electrons and dihydrogen monoxide the same way that they regulate smoking areas, parking spaces, and bathrooms breaks. Why would we allow silent killers to dwell within the areas that we feel safe and protected?
