Why don't we use liquid nitrogen to stop forest fires?

If this is about how cold liquid nitrogen is, let's put that down right away. read more

As such, the liquid nitrogen difference would have to be 4x greater between the fire and the nitrogen than between nitrogen and water if we have equal amounts of both. A fire is 800 degrees Celcius. Water at room temperature is about 20 degrees celcius. read more

The answer is simple enough - we can't contain them efficiently. Liquid nitrogen is a, surprisingly, liquid, which evaporates at -196 °C (or -321 °F). read more

We are undergoing maintenance for a few hours. Some features may be temporarily unavailable. read more

If this is about how cold liquid nitrogen is, let’s put that down right away. The fire radiates heat and the liquid nitrogen is nowhere near cold enough to stop raging fires’ worth of thermal energy if we use an amount that could actually be transported over a raging fire. read more

By the time it becomes a forest fire it will be to late. The only thing to do is wait for it to burn out and pray for rain if you are a religious person. It usually takes a lot of trained people and special equipment to put out a forest fire, but if it is just starting like a grass fire at the edge of the road and you have a shovel you might be able to stop it. read more