ABOUT THE INVENTOR
You've heard about The Physicist's Fire. Meet the physicist.
It all started with the eureka moment when Dr. Lawrence Cranberg first discovered how to get more heat out of his fireplace. Learn more about his background as a physicist and inventor who developed 11 patents throughout his career – the Texas Fireframe patent being his proudest.
The Texas Fireframe Story
A Heat Revolution:
From Our Home to Yours
It all began in Texas in December of 1974 …
That winter the Cranberg family was feeling the cold chill of the Arab oil embargo. Homes all over the country had their thermostats turned down, and Dr. Lawrence Cranberg decided it was time to get some heat out of his fireplace.
He built a fire that quickly fizzled out, and then he attempted another with similar dismal results. A physicist with credentials ranging from Harvard to the Manhattan Project to UVA professor, Dr. Cranberg decided more kindling wasn’t the answer. The answer was Kirchhoff. “I was about to give up,” he said, “but decided to use a poker to roll back the top log to peek into the hidden heart of what fire I had started. Sure enough, there were hot coals hidden in the space I had opened up. It flashed into my mind that I was looking into what Gustave Kirchoff taught us a century and a half ago was a Hohlraum (German ‘hole space’) cavity that has very favorable radiating properties, and then something remarkable happened. As I held up the near side of the upper log, a line of flames erupted from left to right on the log below where radiation was striking it from the upper log … an unforgettable moment.”
In opening up the hot cavity of the fire, Dr. Cranberg not only created a fire that’s easy to light but one that directs more heat into the room. How does it work? It all comes down to two adjustable arms that set the Texas Fireframe grate apart from all other fireplace grates (as well as those expensive fireplace inserts that draw large quantities of money from your wallet without producing hotter fires).
The very first prototype was manufactured by the Weigl Brothers of Austin, Texas – Iron Works BBQ now being the source of great ribs rather than grate inventions. Much to the chagrin of Dr. Cranberg’s family, he tested his invention on a hot August day.
As it turned out, a hot day in Texas had never been hotter. The fire grate produced heat exactly as Dr. Cranberg calculated, and successive tests proved it reliably made fires easy to start and maintain. He named his invention for his home state (although he’s called many places home, from the Bronx to Cleveland to Los Alamos), and he quickly went into production, developing what Time magazine would later dub “The Physicist’s Fire.”
One and a half million years after early man built the first fire, Dr. Cranberg’s invention became the very first fire-making method ever to be described in referenced scientific literature.* And in the 40 years since, he has received a steady supply of grate reviews from customers and grate press. The Governor of Texas, Time magazine, USA Today and The New York Times are among those who have lauded Dr. Cranberg’s fireplace grate. He was interviewed by Tony Sargeant on CBS and then described his invention on the BBC’s “Tomorrow’s World.” The Dallas Morning News boasted, “An Austin physicist, Dr. Lawrence Cranberg, has received sudden national and international attention … for achieving a scientific breakthrough.”
As one would expect, there have been many imitators over the years – flattering, yes – but unfortunately for the public, poor imitators of his design. Another word of caution – beware the anti-fireplace fallacy, which falsely states that fireplaces draw more heat out of homes than they provide. (Never mind that virtually every home in America including the White House was heated exclusively with fireplace fires a century ago!) Educating the public has turned out to be an important chapter in the Texas Fireframe® grate story.
Of his dozen patents, Dr. Cranberg treasured his Texas Fireframe grate patent the most because of the profound pleasure it brings to so many people who have taken the time to write or call him. His repeat customers have been many, and the Texas Fireframe grate has proven to be a favorite holiday gift. Of course, every Texas Fireframe grate is made in the USA of hot rolled steel (not cast iron which burns out in a few years), and our welders continue to uphold our very high quality standards.
Many of our customers put in extra orders for their children who now have fireplaces of their own and who grew up with happy memories of “The Physicist’s Fire” at home.
To all of our customers – past, present and future – the Cranberg family sends our very warmest regards!
Family Man, Scientist, Advocate ... Inventor
The Legacy of Dr. Lawrence Cranberg
Lawrence Cranberg, PhD was a nuclear physicist, inventor and entrepreneur whose career spanned seven decades, but the wonder and beauty of science was always on his mind. Raised in the Bronx by Russian and Polish immigrant parents, he would not find his way to “the land of milk and honey” – his beloved Texas – until years later.
Physicist Dr. Lawrence Cranberg achieved a scientific breakthrough.
His career in science began in 1940 at the Signal Corps Engineering Labs where he was a Senior Physicist. Dr. Cranberg developed systems of target detection and location-based use of infra-red radiation, a precursor technology to today’s autofocus cameras. He later joined the Los Alamos National Laboratory where he became a fellow of the Atomic Energy Commission.
At Los Alamos, he was a protégé of Hans Bethe, and conducted groundbreaking research on high energy neutrons. Dr. Cranberg was appointed to the US delegation to the First International Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy at Geneva in 1955 where he reported on his work. Among his many widely-cited publications were papers in The Scientific American and Physics Today. Dr. Cranberg also generously shared his intuitive insights with colleagues; one such insight directly led to the discovery of the neutrino. Dr. Cranberg was elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society in 1958 – his nomination made by 1995 Nobelist and neutrino pioneer Frederick Reines and J.M.B. Kellogg. Once introduced as “Mr. Nanosecond” by Sir Denys Wilkinson to a London physics conference, Dr. Cranberg developed the means to measure a billionth of second before “nanotechnology” was a word; his “time-of-flight” method of measuring neutron spectra became the foundation for neutron spectrometry.
Following a Guggenheim fellowship in 1962, Dr. Cranberg was instrumental in securing a federal grant to the University of Virginia to build and to become founding director of its Physics Accelerator Laboratory. He was a devoted scientist and teacher. Thirty years later, one of his grateful graduate students – Dr. Long Nguyen – would endow a scholarship and faculty research in his name at George Mason University, remarking that Dr. Cranberg inspired him by exemplifying the work ethic of American scientists.
Dr. Cranberg didn’t hesitate to fight for justice whether it be the case of his own academic freedom, or his involvement in the lawsuit that eventually forced UVA to accept women into its formerly all-male undergraduate school. In 1971, Dr. Cranberg moved to Austin where he joined a small high-tech company, eventually starting his own firm to develop fast-neutron techniques for the treatment of cancer.
In 1975, while tinkering with log formations in his fireplace, Dr. Cranberg invented the Texas Fireframe® grate. Applying the laws of physics to fire-building, he discovered that a unique arrangement of logs distributes more heat into the room and less up the chimney. Later dubbed “The Physicist’s Fire” by Time magazine, his invention has warmed many homes nationwide, and 50 years later, the company he started continues to receive fan mail and orders for his unique fireplace grate from customers new and old.
An advocate for social causes throughout his life, Dr. Cranberg fought for racial equality in Virginia (he also recruited the first black graduate physics student at UVA), for the freedom of Russian physicist Andrei Sakharov and for scientists and inventors not properly credited for their work. He wrote incisively about topics from the ethical problems of scientists to the pseudoscientific basis of Marxism. Dr. Cranberg’s candidacy for the U.S. Senate from Texas was inspired by his desire for science to better inform decisions in and of the law. Dr. Cranberg’s capacity for indignation at injustice was matched only by his optimistic belief in his ability to fight for change and to make a difference.
Dr. Cranberg’s enthusiasm, generosity, sense of humor and his quest for knowledge, truth, and justice are just a few of the qualities that his family, friends and colleagues will always remember him for.
He passed away on November 21, 2011, surrounded by his loving family. His wife Charlotte helped run the business longer than any family member – from its inception in 1975 until her death in 2018. Nowadays, his daughter Nicole runs the business while his son Alex keeps the home fires burning.
GETTING BACK TO BASICS
Mastering The Art of the Perfect Fire
01.
Starting Your Fire
If your wood is fully seasoned, you will discover that you can follow our simple instructions and start a fire with just newspaper and no kindling!
02.
Maintaining Your Fire
For best results, keep furnace compact, pressing logs together as they burn down. When front logs burn out, flames are extinguished but the heat continues to come from the remains. When front logs are replaced, watch and wait. They will ignite spontaneously!
03.
Extinguishing Your Fire
Disassemble furnace with poker and tongs. Separating logs will extinguish the fire. Standing logs upright against fireplace walls will extinguish it more quickly.
Nostalgic Charm, Modern Convenience
The Tech We've Relied On Since the Days of Cavemen
Ancient Technology Reimagined for Modern Convenience (and Maximum Heat).
Rooted in the fundamentals of ancient hearth fires, Texas Fireframe has adapted age-old technology for modern convenience. Our innovative design delivers a substantial 5 kW of radiant power, showcasing a remarkable efficiency boost compared to conventional fireplace grates. In practical terms, this translates to extracting more heat from each log burned. Texas Fireframe delivers revolutionary warmth in a straightforward, effective, and “deceptively simple” way.
Let us Hear fRom You!
This winter, bring the “Physicist’s Fire” into your home
Our standard-size grate fits most fireplaces, but we also offer four other sizes to accommodate a wider range of fireplace dimensions. Looking for something more specific? Reach out now to place a custom order.
