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A smoke detector is a device that detects smoke typically as an indicator of fire . Commercial , industrial , and mass residential devices issue a signal to a fire alarm system while household detector , known as smoke alarm . Smoke alarm are normally placed in disc shaped plastic enclosures that have a diameter of about 6 inches and a width of 1 inches , they are two type of smoke alarms the optical detector & ionization alarms.

How does a Fire Alarm Work?

There are mainly two types of smoke alarms (fire alarms) depending upon the type of detector that is used in them . In order to understand how each type of alarm works , one needs to know the mechanism of how each type of detector detects fire and sets off the alarm . The smoke detectors used are the ionization detector and the photoelectric detector . Most fire alarms use either one or both the types of detectors.

Ionization Detectors:Ionization detectors have a small quantity of Americanum-241 that serves as the source of ionizing radiation. The alpha particles that are constantly released by Americanum-241 strike with the oxygen and nitrogen atoms in the air. This knocks off electrons from the oxygen and nitrogen atoms resulting in the formation of positively charged ions. Ionization detectors also have an ionization chamber which houses two plates about a centimeter apart. The battery that is used to run the alarm applies a low voltage to the plates, due to which one plate gets positively and the other gets negatively charged. The positively charged ions of oxygen and nitrogen gas get attracted to the negative plate whereas the electrons released from the atoms of these gases move towards the positive plate. This generates a small continuous electric current within the alarm. As long as this current is flowing within the detector, the alarm is not set off. However, once the circuit is broken, the alarm rings out. In case of a fire when smoke enters the ionization chamber, the smoke particles attach to the positively charged ions and neutralize them. This results in a drop in the current that triggers off the alarm

Photoelectric Detectors:In photoelectric detectors, the alarm is set off once the straight path of light beam inside the photoelectric chamber gets disrupted by smoke particles. Photoelectric detectors have a T-shaped chamber that contains an incandescent bulb or an infrared LED which acts as a light source. There is a lens in these fire alarms that collimates the light being emitted from the light source into a beam. There is a photodiode or some other photoelectric sensor at the base of the vertical arm of the T-shaped photoelectric chamber that acts as a light sensor. In the absence of smoke, the beam of light travels in a straight path without coming in contact with the light sensor. However, once the smoke particles enter the photoelectric chamber, the beam of light strikes them and get scattered to hit the light sensor. Once the light rays strike the light sensor the alarm is triggered off.

Smoke alarms are small devices placed on the walls or ceiling of your home. When they detect a fire, they emit a loud beeping noise, alerting residents to the danger. More elaborate versions can be tied into a larger security system and notify the fire department in case of trouble. Reliable models are available for a very low price, however, and can be purchased easily at any hardware store. The answers to why one needs a smoke alarm are fairly self-evident.

Smoke alarms often mean the difference between life and death in cases of a building fire. FireSafety.gov reports that about two-thirds of fatal home fires involve absent or nonworking smoke detectors. But as important as the devices are to the safety of families, they also have some shortcomings.