Recently a netizen asked me to talk about electric flame stoves. Because there are too many things to do, I haven't had time to write. I'm sorry for putting it off until now. Is the electric flame stove the crystallization of high technology or a publicity stunt? Please make your own judgment after listening to my explanation.
1. What is an electric flame stove
An electric flame stove is an open flame stove that does not use chemical fuels. It can also be said to be a device that sets the air on fire. If you donāt look carefully, electric flame stoves are the gas stoves commonly used in our homes, which use flames to heat food. The difference is that gas stoves need to burn natural gas or liquefied gas. Without these gases, the gas stove cannot work. At the same time, the gas used in gas stoves is dangerous and can easily cause an explosion if leaked. Once it explodes, it will still be very harmful. Everyone must have heard about gas explosions.
Electric flame stoves do not require fuel. As long as there is electricity, there will be a steady stream of flames, and there is no need to worry about explosions. The main principle of the electric flame stove is to use high-voltage electricity to break down the air, and part of the air molecules become plasma , and these plasmas are ejected into flames.
The so-called electric flame stove is a device that generates and sprays air plasma. It must be emphasized that although air can also catch fire, air is not a fuel because the air plasma remains air after cooling and will not turn into other substances. We live on earth and donāt have to worry about running out of air, and there is no charge for air. If it were moved to the moon and the electric flame stove left the air, it would not be able to produce flames and would not be usable.
Regarding plasma, I wonāt introduce too much here. Molecules in the air lose electrons and become cations . The mixture of cations and electrons is plasma. Plasma can emit light. The flames and lightning we see in our daily life are all It's plasma. Let me add that the flames of the gas stove we see are actually the effect of plasma luminescence. The plasma generated by high-voltage electric breakdown of gas is also called arc plasma. If the gas is air, it's an arc air plasma. In human terms, a fire made with electricity can also be called an electric flame, or electric flame for short. The electric spark you often see produced by a short circuit between two wires is actually an electric flame. Do you feel that working on the study of human epidermal dirt is like being a scrubber?
In fact, not only the principle of the electric flame stove is very simple, but the actual device is not complicated either. For electric flame stoves, to put it bluntly, two pieces of metal are connected to two wires, one wire is connected to the live wire, and the other wire is connected to the neutral wire or the ground wire. Two pieces of metal are two electrodes. The farther apart the two electrodes are, the higher the voltage required to produce a flame. The closer the two electrodes are, the lower the voltage required to produce a flame. The distance between the two electrodes of the electric flame stove is very close, so although high voltage is needed, the voltage does not need to be too high.
Actually, strictly speaking, electrodes and air alone cannot produce a sustained flame. That friend sent me a short video. The electric flame stove produced a powerful flame, just like the flamethrower , and there was a lot of noise. My first feeling was that this was unscientific. In fact, if you think about it carefully, it is not particularly difficult to achieve this. You only need to do two things. The first point is that the voltage is high enough to generate enough plasma. The second point is to have an air pump. can provide fast enough airflow. Therefore, an electric flame stove is essentially two electrodes plus an air pump. Porous electric flame stoves can use multiple sets of electrodes. Such a structure does not seem to be much more complicated than a gas stove, but the price is much higher than that of a gas stove. You can compare it yourself.
2. Why are electric flame stoves so expensive? The reason why electric flame stoves are much more expensive than gas stoves is because electric flame stoves have many inherent shortcomings that need to be overcome. Solving these shortcomings requires paying a price, and the production cost is relatively high. .
First of all, electric flame stoves use high-voltage electricity and must be protected for safety. If high-voltage electricity is not protected, it is easy for users to get electric shock. Especially during the cooking process, if water is spilled on the stove, it will cause a short circuit or electric shock.If this cannot be protected, the electric flame stove itself is a time bomb. At the same time, the flame temperature of the electric flame stove is very high and can easily injure people. The power needs to be cut off quickly when the pot is removed.
Secondly, the high-temperature plasma produced by the electric flame stove will cause serious ablation of the electrode. If the electrode is not protected well, even if the electrode is made of tungsten , the metal with the highest melting point, it will be burned out very quickly. Just like the earliest incandescent lamp , although it uses tungsten filament , it cannot be used for a long time until a vacuum is drawn inside the lamp. It is impossible to evacuate an electric flame stove, and if it is evacuated, it will not be able to emit fire. Moreover, electric flame stoves must face a harsher environment than incandescent lamps, because the air contains a large amount of oxygen , and the high-temperature plasma formed by oxygen is much more corrosive than the air itself. In industry, nitrogen or rare gases are often used instead of air to extend the life of the electrode. Electric flame stoves obviously cannot use nitrogen or rare gases, so ordinary people cannot afford them. There are only two methods left, which are to reduce the flame temperature and protect the electrode with special structures or materials. Itās not clear what methods electric flame stoves on the market use to protect the electrodes, but what is clear is that there is a cost to protect the electrodes.
Again, although the electric flame stove only burns air, it does not seem to pollute the environment. However, the chemical reaction activity of plasma becomes stronger. Reactions that would not occur at normal temperature become easier in the plasma state. For example, oxygen changes into ozone , and oxygen and nitrogen react to form nitrogen oxides. These are all polluting the environment. of. Electric flame cookers on the market claim to have solved this problem. To solve this problem, either use a catalyst or dilute the plasma. The so-called diluted plasma means increasing the air flow, allowing normal air to dilute the plasma air, reducing the reactivity, thereby reducing the generation of pollutants. This places special requirements on the gas pump and combustion holes of the gas stove.
Finally, the flame produced by an electric flame stove is a very corrosive flame because there is a lot of oxygen in the air. Although gas stoves also have flames, there is not much oxygen, because the reaction between gas and oxygen has turned into water vapor and carbon dioxide, so the flame of gas stoves is not very corrosive. The flame of an electric flame stove contains a lot of oxygen plasma, which is highly corrosive, especially to metal pots. The electric flame stoves on the market claim that they no longer need to choose pots and pans, so they probably have adopted appropriate measures.
3. Aerospace Technology also uses electric flame technology
Having said so much, electric flame stoves may not seem to be high-tech, but this electric flame technology itself is indeed high-tech. Because the most promising engine technology in the aerospace field is the electric propulsion engine. The electric propulsion engine has extremely high specific impulse, which can reach 10-20 times that of mainstream rockets. This means that satellite or spacecraft using electric propulsion engines will save a lot of fuel and greatly extend their service life.
The difference between the electric propulsion engine and the electric flame stove is that it often works in a vacuum environment without air. It needs to carry its own propellant , and the propellant it carries is not air. You must know that air is too corrosive. Electric propulsion engines often use the rare gas xenon or krypton. For example, and , the Chinese space station, use xenon. If the xenon gas is used up, even if the electric propulsion engine has sufficient power, it will not be able to produce flames, and naturally it will not be able to produce thrust. This is different from the impression that many netizens have that electric propulsion engines only need electricity to fly.
From the perspective of electric propulsion engines, this technology is definitely considered high-tech. After all, not many countries in the world have mastered this technology, and so far there are still huge performance bottlenecks. The world's most powerful electric propulsion engine only has a thrust of 15 Newtons, which translates into a weight of only about 1.5 kilograms. Most of them have a thrust of less than 1 Newton, which is less than two taels of thrust. Compared with the thrust level of the commonly used rocket engine , which can easily reach hundreds of tons, or at least a few tons, it is indeed pitifully small.If electric propulsion technology can reach the level of several tons, it will not only be used in vacuum environments in the future, but can even be used to directly propel small aircraft flying in the atmosphere, because air can be used directly as propellant when flying in the atmosphere. However, in order to achieve supporting power, it is estimated that the only way is to use the nuclear reactor .
Although the electric flame stove cannot be directly transformed into an electric propulsion engine, it can be regarded as a product with a high technical level when used in the civilian field. The current cost is too high. The main reason is that the output is too low. For example, induction cookers have become popular enough and have now dropped to the level of one to two hundred yuan. If electric flame stoves can reach the popularity of induction cookers, the price should be similar to that of gas stoves, and they will be more economical than burning gas. But at present, the price is still on the high side, and it will take time to verify the maturity of the technology. What I am more concerned about is how often does it take to replace the electrodes of the electric flame stove? Are the electrodes expensive?
Thatās all. Do you think this electric flame stove is a gimmick or a high-tech product? I am a stargazer from Dongcheng. I just briefly talked about this type of product in principle without actually purchasing it. I hope it will be useful to everyone. I also hope that friends who have purchased related products can tell you about your experience.
If this cannot be protected, the electric flame stove itself is a time bomb. At the same time, the flame temperature of the electric flame stove is very high and can easily injure people. The power needs to be cut off quickly when the pot is removed.
Secondly, the high-temperature plasma produced by the electric flame stove will cause serious ablation of the electrode. If the electrode is not protected well, even if the electrode is made of tungsten , the metal with the highest melting point, it will be burned out very quickly. Just like the earliest incandescent lamp , although it uses tungsten filament , it cannot be used for a long time until a vacuum is drawn inside the lamp. It is impossible to evacuate an electric flame stove, and if it is evacuated, it will not be able to emit fire. Moreover, electric flame stoves must face a harsher environment than incandescent lamps, because the air contains a large amount of oxygen , and the high-temperature plasma formed by oxygen is much more corrosive than the air itself. In industry, nitrogen or rare gases are often used instead of air to extend the life of the electrode. Electric flame stoves obviously cannot use nitrogen or rare gases, so ordinary people cannot afford them. There are only two methods left, which are to reduce the flame temperature and protect the electrode with special structures or materials. Itās not clear what methods electric flame stoves on the market use to protect the electrodes, but what is clear is that there is a cost to protect the electrodes.
Again, although the electric flame stove only burns air, it does not seem to pollute the environment. However, the chemical reaction activity of plasma becomes stronger. Reactions that would not occur at normal temperature become easier in the plasma state. For example, oxygen changes into ozone , and oxygen and nitrogen react to form nitrogen oxides. These are all polluting the environment. of. Electric flame cookers on the market claim to have solved this problem. To solve this problem, either use a catalyst or dilute the plasma. The so-called diluted plasma means increasing the air flow, allowing normal air to dilute the plasma air, reducing the reactivity, thereby reducing the generation of pollutants. This places special requirements on the gas pump and combustion holes of the gas stove.
Finally, the flame produced by an electric flame stove is a very corrosive flame because there is a lot of oxygen in the air. Although gas stoves also have flames, there is not much oxygen, because the reaction between gas and oxygen has turned into water vapor and carbon dioxide, so the flame of gas stoves is not very corrosive. The flame of an electric flame stove contains a lot of oxygen plasma, which is highly corrosive, especially to metal pots. The electric flame stoves on the market claim that they no longer need to choose pots and pans, so they probably have adopted appropriate measures.
3. Aerospace Technology also uses electric flame technology
Having said so much, electric flame stoves may not seem to be high-tech, but this electric flame technology itself is indeed high-tech. Because the most promising engine technology in the aerospace field is the electric propulsion engine. The electric propulsion engine has extremely high specific impulse, which can reach 10-20 times that of mainstream rockets. This means that satellite or spacecraft using electric propulsion engines will save a lot of fuel and greatly extend their service life.
The difference between the electric propulsion engine and the electric flame stove is that it often works in a vacuum environment without air. It needs to carry its own propellant , and the propellant it carries is not air. You must know that air is too corrosive. Electric propulsion engines often use the rare gas xenon or krypton. For example, and , the Chinese space station, use xenon. If the xenon gas is used up, even if the electric propulsion engine has sufficient power, it will not be able to produce flames, and naturally it will not be able to produce thrust. This is different from the impression that many netizens have that electric propulsion engines only need electricity to fly.
From the perspective of electric propulsion engines, this technology is definitely considered high-tech. After all, not many countries in the world have mastered this technology, and so far there are still huge performance bottlenecks. The world's most powerful electric propulsion engine only has a thrust of 15 Newtons, which translates into a weight of only about 1.5 kilograms. Most of them have a thrust of less than 1 Newton, which is less than two taels of thrust. Compared with the thrust level of the commonly used rocket engine , which can easily reach hundreds of tons, or at least a few tons, it is indeed pitifully small.If electric propulsion technology can reach the level of several tons, it will not only be used in vacuum environments in the future, but can even be used to directly propel small aircraft flying in the atmosphere, because air can be used directly as propellant when flying in the atmosphere. However, in order to achieve supporting power, it is estimated that the only way is to use the nuclear reactor .
Although the electric flame stove cannot be directly transformed into an electric propulsion engine, it can be regarded as a product with a high technical level when used in the civilian field. The current cost is too high. The main reason is that the output is too low. For example, induction cookers have become popular enough and have now dropped to the level of one to two hundred yuan. If electric flame stoves can reach the popularity of induction cookers, the price should be similar to that of gas stoves, and they will be more economical than burning gas. But at present, the price is still on the high side, and it will take time to verify the maturity of the technology. What I am more concerned about is how often does it take to replace the electrodes of the electric flame stove? Are the electrodes expensive?
Thatās all. Do you think this electric flame stove is a gimmick or a high-tech product? I am a stargazer from Dongcheng. I just briefly talked about this type of product in principle without actually purchasing it. I hope it will be useful to everyone. I also hope that friends who have purchased related products can tell you about your experience.
