Flames that don’t flicker could make engines more efficient

Producing flickerless flames usually requires artificially low pressure or gravity. Researchers have now come up with a method that works in standard conditions that could help make engines more efficient

By Karmela Padavic-Callaghan

Flames that don’t flicker could make stoves and engines more efficient. Creating such flames has previously required using artificially low gravity or pressure. Now, researchers have manged to do it in real-world conditions by pairing flames together.

Devices ranging from stoves and furnaces to aircraft and spacecraft engines use flames arranged close to each other. Flames consist of warm particles of air that can influence each other when close together so putting one flame next to another can cause both to flicker. When flames flicker devices using …