16-year-old Mexican student builds an acoustic fire extinguisher that puts out flames with sound

A 16-year-old student in Mexico has built a fire extinguisher that uses sound instead of water, foam or powder. Ángela Karime Venegas Hernández, who studies at CETIS 78 in Altamira, in the state of Tamaulipas, started from a simple challenge: putting out a candle without blowing on it, without water, and without touching it.

A speaker that pushes oxygen away from the flame

The device she assembled consists of a 12-volt battery, a frequency generator and a speaker that emits 30 pulses per second. The vibration of those low-frequency sound waves pushes oxygen away from the flames, and the fire goes out on its own within five to eight seconds. No extinguishing agent is sprayed at the fire: the flame simply loses the oxygen it needs to keep burning.

More than 100 tests on different fuels

According to the report, Venegas Hernández repeated her tests more than 100 times. The acoustic extinguisher also worked on wood, flammable liquids, cooking grease and electronic equipment. The reported advantages are that it does not pollute, leaves no residue and does not put the person using it at risk — unlike conventional extinguishers, whose powder or foam can damage electronics and leave surfaces to be cleaned afterwards.

From a school experiment to an international fair

What began as a classroom experiment now has a name of its own: “Vortex Tech”. The project has also earned her a place representing Mexico at an international fair, where she will present her way of fighting one of humanity’s oldest dangers. The next step is unusual for a 16-year-old inventor: the prototype works, and it is now heading for an international stage rather than staying in the laboratory.