Fire Extinguisher
or FIRE ANNIHILATOR, an apparatus intended for extinguishing fire by the spraying of specific liquids, such as water charged with carbon dioxide or some other gas impervious to combustion. These extinguishers are usually cylindrical in form, made of a metal both light and strong, containing a solution of soluble carbonate, and in an upper glass receptacle a quantity of sulphuric acid which mingles with the carbonate solution when the cylinder is inverted preparatory to its use. The resultant carbon dioxide during its process of generation drives the saturated liquid through a valve, nozzle, or other opening, by the manipulation of which it may be directed on the flames. The extinguishers may be of a size convenient for carrying ent for carrying or they may be large enough to require moving on wheels, as in factories. A more elaborate arrangement is the sprinkler system, consisting of pipes running under the ceiling in the successive stories of an establishment, from which water is automatically released when a given temperature is reached, supplemented by the use of certain chemical agents. A smaller form of extinguisher is the hand grenade, containing solutions such as chlorine, and mixtures of calcium chloride, which is thrown bodily in the flames where the fire is at its inception.
FIRELESS ENGINE