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Should Ionisation smoke detectors be sold?

A smoke detector is a device that senses smoke, typically as an indicator of a fire. Smoke
detectors are housed in plastic enclosures, typically in a circular shape but sizes may vary.
Smoke can either be detected optically where a photoelectric detector is most popular or by
a physical process where ionisation detectors may be used. However, much controversy has
surrounded the topic of whether ionisation smoke detectors are the best choice for
customers in search of safe, high performing and relatively cheap smoke detectors.

Ionisation smoke detectors require the use of radiation which may result in reluctance from
buyers to install them in their homes. Essentially, the smoke detector contains an ionisation
chamber which is two metal plates at different voltages. The surrounding air molecules flow
between the two plates, where they are ionised by the source of radiation as seen in figure 1
to the right. The negative and positive ions are then attracted to the positive and negative
plate, resulting in a measurable constant current.

If the air molecules contain smoke, electrostatic attraction causes the smoke particles to
stick to ions in the chamber. Electrostatic attraction being the force between two charged
particles being directly proportional to the product of their charges and inversely proportional
to the square of the distance between them (Coulombs Law) (TheFreeDictionary.com,
2016). In equation form, Couloms law can be stated as
F=KQQd

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Where K is a Coulombs constant that is dependent upon the medium that both charged
objects are immersed in, which in this case will consist of smoke particles. In the case of air,
the value is approxiately 9.010 meters x m/C.Qrepresents the charge on object 1
(Coulombs), Qrepresents the charge on object 2 (Coulombs), and d represents the
separating distance between the 2 objects (meters) (Physicsclassroom.com, 2016).

Due to the large size of the smoke particles compared to that of air molecules, the average
mass of the charged particles in the chamber increases. However the ions do not lose their
electric charges when this occurs. As these particles are still in thermal equilibrium with the
surrounding air, they must have the same average thermal energy. As the thermal energy in
a gas is proportional to mv, if the average mass of the ions increases, the average speed
must decrease to conserve kinetic energy and therefore allow the thermal energy to stay
constant. The decrease in speed shows as a decrease in the measured current which
triggers the detectors alarm. However in spite of using radiation, this is one of the
advantages ionisation type smoke detectors have over photoelectric type detectors, as they
can detect particles that are too small to be seen (Eason, 2011).

Given that ionisation type smoke detectors can detect particles too small to be seen, it also
results in more false alarms causing nuisance to the homeowner. When a smoke alarm goes
off every time someone is cooking, it causes a tendency for the owner to remove the battery
or the smoke detector which devalues the purpose of owning a smoke detector (Eason,
2011). According to Dan Fraser, a current Fire Prevention Officer, photoelectric technology
is actually a good choice when were putting a smoke alarm on the floor that contains the
kitchen. The reason for that is because a photoelectric smoke alarm is less likely to activate
for nuisance alarms that might be caused from operations in the kitchen, whether it be
making toast, maybe just opening an oven, even in the shower can have a tendency to set
off or create a nuisance alarm for ionisation alarms (ShawTVSSM, 2015).

Another problem concerning Ionisation smoke detectors is that the response time is quite
slow to a smouldering fire. They are approximately 10 minutes slower than photoelectric
detectors however photoelectric detectors are slower than those of ionisation in detecting
flaming fires (Kasperczyk, 2010). In support of this argument, stated by Dan Fraser,
Photoelectric incorporate a light beam inside, looks like a laser and that laser beam has to
be broken or interrupted by smoke particles in order for that detector to activate and for that
reason photoelectric smoke detectors are less likely to activate for nuisance alarms. Also if
we do have a slow smouldering fire, might be one like smoking materials in upholstery, if we
have something thats heating up; its over heating and causing smoke, not actually a flame,
a photoelectric detector will activate sooner than an ionisation detector in that case
(ShawTVSSM, 2015).

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Apart from performance standards, the ionisation detectors are significantly cheaper than
photoelectric detectors. According to the World Nuclear Association (World-nuclear.org,
2014) ionisation smoke detectors are the most popular because they are inexpensive as
they are cheaper to manufacture than photoelectric type detectors, and are sensitive to a
wider range of fire conditions than the photoelectric type (Cleary, 2007).

The results of the researched investigated topic suggests that Ionisation smoke detectors
are a good choice when in search of a cheap, and somewhat useful when flaming fires are
taking place. However, photoelectric detectors are the way to go when looking for a non
radiation using and highly efficient in not setting off nuisance alarms detector.

References:
TheFreeDictionary.com. (2016). Electrostatic attraction. [online] Available at:
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Electrostatic+attraction [Accessed 24 May 2016].

Physicsclassroom.com. (2016). Coulomb's Law. [online] Available at:

http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/estatics/Lesson-3/Coulomb-s-Law [Accessed 9 Jun.
2016].

Eason, E. (2011). Americium Smoke Detectors. [online] Large.stanford.edu. Available at:

http://large.stanford.edu/courses/2011/ph241/eason1/ [Accessed 8 May 2016].

Kasperczyk, C. (2010). Smoke Alarms: Comparing the Differences in Response Times and
Nuisance Alarms. 1st ed. [ebook] p.pg 6. Available at:
http://ceas.uc.edu/content/dam/aero/docs/fire/Papers/10Ssmokeresponse.pdf [Accessed 24
May 2016].

ShawTVSSM, (2015). Smoke Alarm Tips - Ionization vs Photoelectric. [video] Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSw-NnM2zII [Accessed 8 May 2016].

World-nuclear.org. (2016). Smoke Detectors and Americium - World Nuclear Association.

[online] Available at: http://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/non-power-nuclear-

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applications/radioisotopes-research/smoke-detectors-and-americium.aspx [Accessed 8 May

2016].
Residential Smoke Alarm Performance, Thomas Cleary, Building and Fire Research Laboratory, National
Institute of Standards and Technology, UL Smoke and Fire Dynamics Seminar. November, 2007.