Mexican student builds sound-based fire extinguisher
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Ángela Karime, a student in Altamira, Mexico, developed a device called Vortex-Tech that uses sound waves to extinguish small flames.
She worked on the project for about a year with her advisor, José Arturo Hernández Muñoz, creating a fifth prototype of the device. Vortex-Tech generates strong, low-frequency sound waves around 30 Hz that disrupt the conditions needed for combustion.
Researchers have explored using acoustics to extinguish flames for years, with studies in 2018 and 2024 demonstrating that sound waves can both oscillate air and create airflow that suppresses fire. While these studies informed Karime’s work, Vortex-Tech uses a different technical setup and lower frequencies. The prototype can currently extinguish small flames from a distance of about two meters in testing. Karime’s project has already earned recognition in Mexico.
She won a category at ExpoCiencias Tamaulipas 2025 and then received a silver medal at a national competition with around 270 projects. As a result, she will represent Mexico at an international science and invention competition in Jakarta, Indonesia from October 13 to 17. Tecnológico de Monterrey, a university, is also assisting her with a scholarship application.
