A decade ago, two college students built a fire extinguisher that snuffed out a fire using nothing more than a booming 10-inch subwoofer. The internet lapped it up, and Jimmy Fallon even booked a demonstration for The Tonight Show .

But since that brief viral moment, there hasn’t been much more than a whisper about the technology.

It’s not for lack of trying. The college kids weren’t the first to prove the concept. DARPA was on the case in 2012 ; and a search of the scientific literature reveals dozens of researchers investigating the idea.

One startup now claims to have cracked the problem. Sonic Fire Tech has built an acoustic fire suppression system that doesn’t just extinguish flames; it that might also protect homes and other buildings from wildfires. The startup has raised

See Full Page