Combustion aerosol generator system

A method for generating combustion aerosols from liquid fuel, comprising:

• supplying liquid fuel through a fuel line into a furnace, wherein said furnace includes an inner heating tube having an inlet end and an outlet end, and a means for heating said inner heating tube;
• and said fuel line extends through the inlet end and into the inner heating tube, wherein said fuel line connects to a liquid fuel manifold and wherein said manifold includes a plurality of lines of different lengths so that an outlet end of each of the plurality of lines is disposed over a different location on an inner surface of the inner heating tube, so that the liquid fuel from the fuel line passes into the manifold and then through said plurality of lines and is dripped from the outlet end of each of the plurality of lines onto a plurality of different locations on the inner surface of the inner heating tube;
• and wherein said means for heating is configured so that the inner surface of the inner heating tube is maintained at a temperature which exceeds the auto-ignition temperature of the liquid fuel so that there is an immediate combustion to form combustion products;
• and
• directing air through an air line connected to the inlet end of the inner heating tube so that air flows through the inner heating tube to mix with the combustion products and transports the resulting combustion product aerosols out of the outlet end of the inner heating tube.