Gas sensors sound smouldering alarm

摘要

Smoke detectors are everywhere, yet still thousands of people die in fires annually. Smoke detectors re- spond only to smoke, which is not always produced in a smouldering . fire. Fire gas detectors, which detect carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide, identify fires earlier. Now, thanks to a new measurement principle developed by researchers at Fraunhofer Institute for Physical Measurement Tech- niques IPM in Freiburg, these costly sensors will soon be cheap enough for the mass market.