Coolest Inventions 2004: Fire Fighter
SPLASHING
It looks like water. It pours, flows and sloshes like water. But it doesn't get things wet. Its name is 3M Novec 1230 Fire Protection Fluid, and its chemical formula looks like alphabet soup. (It's technically a fluorinated ketone, whatever that means.) But you can dunk a laptop computer in it, and it'll come out bone dry and working fine. That makes this wonder fluid perfect for putting out fires in offices, computer rooms and museums. Just don't try drinking it.
INVENTOR 3M
AVAILABILITY Now
TO LEARN MORE
Most Popular »
- Jenny Sanford: The Savviest Spurned Woman in History
- America's Most Wanted Teenage Bandit
- Rattled by Iran, Arab Regimes Draw Closer
- Church Group Attacks Christmas Commercialism
- Israel vs. Hizballah: Drumbeats of War
- How to Rule India: Break It Into More Pieces?
- Corliss Appraises Avatar: A World of Wonder
- Citi's TARP Repayment: The Downside for a Troubled Bank
- A Mounting Suicide Rate Prompts an Army Response
- Citi's Dubai Mistake: A Sign of More Bad Things to Come?
- Church Group Attacks Christmas Commercialism
- America's Most Wanted Teenage Bandit
- A Mounting Suicide Rate Prompts an Army Response
- How to Rule India: Break It Into More Pieces?
- Jenny Sanford: The Savviest Spurned Woman in History
- Citi's TARP Repayment: The Downside for a Troubled Bank
- In Hershey's Possible Cadbury Bid, a School's Fate
- Citi's Dubai Mistake: A Sign of More Bad Things to Come?
- Rattled by Iran, Arab Regimes Draw Closer
- Corliss Appraises Avatar: A World of Wonder
Top Stories on TIME.com
Quotes of the Day »
PRESIDENT OBAMA, during his visit to a Home Depot in Alexandria, Va., where he spoke about the importance of making homes energy efficient
RSS