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From: root@trwatf.UUCP (Lord Frith)
Newsgroups: net.flame,net.legal
Subject: Re: Smoking in public?
Message-ID: <918@trwatf.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 10-May-85 11:52:22 EDT
Article-I.D.: trwatf.918
Posted: Fri May 10 11:52:22 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 12-May-85 01:39:58 EDT
References: <473@nmtvax.UUCP> <917@trwatf.UUCP> <10555@brl-tgr.ARPA>
Organization: TRW Advanced Technology Facility, Merrifield VA.
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Xref: linus net.flame:8941 net.legal:1304

>> that will dump 1000 lbs of Halon at extreme pressure should the fire
>> system detect even a whiff of smoke.  The Halon smothers the flames by
>> eliminating all of the oxygen in the room.

> Wrong, it requires two detectors to go off before it will dump the system.
> In addition, HALON doesn not work by displacing the oxygen.  As a matter
> of fact, they aren't quite sure how it works.  One theory is free radical
> displacement, I'm not a chemist so I don't understand all what they are
> describing.

My we ARE touchy today, Arndt we?  Note I didn't claim that Halon displaces
oxygen... only that it eliminates it.  A nice vague term that gets the idea
across without being overly specific about the underlying mechanism.

Also, you are correct about the system firing only when TWO detectors go
off... but then so what?  The point is that these detectors are SENSITIVE!

>> Within 30 seconds there won't be enough oxygen in the room to support a
>> poodle, much less a human being.

> Sorry, if the system has been properly installed, there isn't enough Halon
> to fully displace the atmosphere in the room.  You can breathe in a Halon
> environment, they believe it has no harmful effects, at least for four hours.

No one here suffered any ill side-effects after last New Year's eve, so I guess
Halon itself is reasonably safe.  Boy what a party!  Paper, pencils, erasers...
poodles.... flying everywhere!

I guess I should have included a smiley... well here ya go... ;-)
-- 


UUCP: ...{decvax,ihnp4,allegra}!seismo!trwatf!root	- Lord Frith
ARPA: trwatf!root@SEISMO

Nasha Lutcha!