What is fire

Something heats the wood to a very high temperature. The heat can come from lots of different things -- a match, focused light, friction, When the wood reaches about 300 degrees Fahrenheit (150 degrees Celsius), the heat decomposes some of the cellulose material that makes up the wood. Some of the decomposed material becomes volatile and is released as gases. We know these gases as char, which is nearly pure carbon, and ash, which is all of the unburnable minerals in the wood (calcium, potassium, and so on). The char is what you buy when you buy charcoal. Charcoal is wood that has been heated to remove nearly all of the volatile gases and leave behind the carbon. That is why a charcoal fire burns with no smoke. The actual burning of wood then happens in two separate reactions: " " " " • When the volatile gases are hot enough (about 500 degrees F (260 degrees C) for wood), the compound molecules break apart, and the atoms recombine with the oxygen to form water, carbon dioxide and other products. In other words, they burn. • The carbon in the char combines with oxygen as well, and this is a much slower reaction. That is why charcoal in a BBQ can stay hot for a long time. A side effect of these chemical reactions is a lot of heat. The fact that the chemical reactions in a fire generate a lot of new heat is what sustains the fire. Many fuels burn in one step. Gasoline is a good example. Heat vaporizes gasoline and it all burns as a volatile gas. There is no char. Humans have ...

Fire is a Fire’s basic combustion equation is: fuel + oxygen —> carbon dioxide + water, a line many of us had drummed into us by school teachers. However, combustion reactions do not proceed directly from oxygen to Flames occur when two gases react, producing both heat and light. When different gases react, they produce different amounts of energy, causing some flames to burn at a higher temperature than others. The flame of a household candle, for instance, will reach between 800°C and 1000°C . A flame can be made to burn at a higher temperature by adjusting the reaction, for example using pure oxygen instead of air. Burning a mix of oxygen and acetylene, or oxy-acetylene, will produce a flame that burns at over 3000°C and can be used to cut, melt and weld metals. We still don’t fully understand each step in the process or all the intermediate molecules involved – and of course these vary depending on the fuel too. This is one reason why we have begun studying

Fire is the visible effect of the process of combustion – a special type of chemical reaction. It occurs between oxygen in the air and some sort of fuel. The products from the chemical reaction are completely different from the starting material. The fuel must be heated to its ignition temperature for combustion to occur. The reaction will keep going as long as there is enough heat, fuel and Combustion is when fuel reacts with oxygen to release heat energy. Combustion can be slow or fast depending on the amount of oxygen available. Combustion that results in a flame is very fast and is called burning. Combustion can only occur between gases. Chemical reaction in the combustion process Fuels can be solids, liquids or gases. During the chemical reaction that produces fire, fuel is heated to such an extent that (if not already a gas) it releases gases from its surface. Only gases can react in combustion. Gases are made up of molecules (groups of atoms). When these gases are hot enough, the molecules in the gases break apart and fragments of molecules rejoin with oxygen from the air to make new product molecules – water molecules (H 2O) and carbon dioxide molecules (CO 2) – and other products if burning is not complete. The heat generated by the reaction is what sustains the fire. The heat of the flame will keep remaining fuel at ignition temperature. The flame ignites gases being emitted, and the fire spreads. As long as there is enough fuel and oxygen, the fire keeps burning...

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• A flame is a mixture of its fuel, light, and the solids and gases that both form the fire and are produced by it. Incomplete combustion produces soot, which is mainly carbon. • Fire is mostly a state of matter called plasma. However, parts of a flame consist of solids and gases. • The exact chemical composition of fire depends on the nature of the fuel and its oxidizer. Most flames consist of carbon dioxide, water vapor, nitrogen, and oxgen. Chemical Composition of Fire Fire is the result of a chemical reaction ignition point, flames are produced. Ordinarily, flames consist primarily of carbon dioxide, water vapor, oxygen, and nitrogen. In the usual combustion reaction, a carbon-based fuel burns in air (oxygen). Potentially, fire only contains gases from the fuel, carbon dioxide, water, nitrogen, and oxygen. However, incomplete combustion yields a host of other possibilities. Soot is a primary component of incomplete combustion. Soot mainly contains carbon, but various organic molecules may occur. Other gases found in fire include carbon monoxide and sometimes nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides. Fire Without Oxygen However, fire does not actually require oxygen. Yes, the oxidizer most often encountered is oxygen, but other chemicals also work. For example, burning hydrogen with chlorine as an oxidizer also produces a flame. The product of the reaction is hydrogen chloride (HCl), so the fire consists of hydrogen, chlorine, HCl, light, and heat. Other combinations are hydro...

Why subscribe? • The ultimate action-packed science and technology magazine bursting with exciting information about the universe • Subscribe today and save an extra 5% with checkout code 'LOVE5' • Engaging articles, amazing illustrations & exclusive interviews • Issues delivered straight to your door or device Given a steady supply of fuel, this exothermic reaction will continue unabated. But fires consume combustibles greedily, hence the need to frequently feed your fireplace to keep the flames ablaze. Even the sun — which creates heat and light in nuclear reactions that involve the fusing of hydrogen atoms into helium — will burn through its fuel in about four billion years. If we're still around, expect

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• A flame is a mixture of its fuel, light, and the solids and gases that both form the fire and are produced by it. Incomplete combustion produces soot, which is mainly carbon. • Fire is mostly a state of matter called plasma. However, parts of a flame consist of solids and gases. • The exact chemical composition of fire depends on the nature of the fuel and its oxidizer. Most flames consist of carbon dioxide, water vapor, nitrogen, and oxgen. Chemical Composition of Fire Fire is the result of a chemical reaction ignition point, flames are produced. Ordinarily, flames consist primarily of carbon dioxide, water vapor, oxygen, and nitrogen. In the usual combustion reaction, a carbon-based fuel burns in air (oxygen). Potentially, fire only contains gases from the fuel, carbon dioxide, water, nitrogen, and oxygen. However, incomplete combustion yields a host of other possibilities. Soot is a primary component of incomplete combustion. Soot mainly contains carbon, but various organic molecules may occur. Other gases found in fire include carbon monoxide and sometimes nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides. Fire Without Oxygen However, fire does not actually require oxygen. Yes, the oxidizer most often encountered is oxygen, but other chemicals also work. For example, burning hydrogen with chlorine as an oxidizer also produces a flame. The product of the reaction is hydrogen chloride (HCl), so the fire consists of hydrogen, chlorine, HCl, light, and heat. Other combinations are hydro...

Fire is the visible effect of the process of combustion – a special type of chemical reaction. It occurs between oxygen in the air and some sort of fuel. The products from the chemical reaction are completely different from the starting material. The fuel must be heated to its ignition temperature for combustion to occur. The reaction will keep going as long as there is enough heat, fuel and Combustion is when fuel reacts with oxygen to release heat energy. Combustion can be slow or fast depending on the amount of oxygen available. Combustion that results in a flame is very fast and is called burning. Combustion can only occur between gases. Chemical reaction in the combustion process Fuels can be solids, liquids or gases. During the chemical reaction that produces fire, fuel is heated to such an extent that (if not already a gas) it releases gases from its surface. Only gases can react in combustion. Gases are made up of molecules (groups of atoms). When these gases are hot enough, the molecules in the gases break apart and fragments of molecules rejoin with oxygen from the air to make new product molecules – water molecules (H 2O) and carbon dioxide molecules (CO 2) – and other products if burning is not complete. The heat generated by the reaction is what sustains the fire. The heat of the flame will keep remaining fuel at ignition temperature. The flame ignites gases being emitted, and the fire spreads. As long as there is enough fuel and oxygen, the fire keeps burning...

Evidence suggests that the earliest controlled use of fire by hominins was about 1,420,000 years ago. However, it was not until about 7000 BCE that Neolithic humans acquired reliable fire-making techniques, in the form either of drills, saws, and other friction-producing implements or of flint struck against pyrites. Fire has been an essential element at every stage of the growth of civilization. Much of the history of technology and science might be characterized as a continual increase in the amount and kinds of energy available through fire that has been brought under human control. fire, rapid burning of combustible material with the evolution of Understand the reason why fire flames have different color, shape, and movement The original source of fire undoubtedly was lightning, and such fortuitously ignited blazes remained the only source of fire for aeons. For some years bce, was believed to be the earliest unquestionable user of fire; evidence uncovered in Kenya in 1981 and in bce did Neolithic man acquire reliable fire-making techniques, in the form either of drills, saws, and other friction-producing nature worship: Fire Original uses of fire The first human beings to control fire gradually learned its many uses. Not only did they use fire to keep warm and cook their food; they also learned to use it in fire drives in hunting or warfare, to kill insects, to obtain berries, and to clear forests of underbrush so that game could be better seen and hunted. Eventually ...