What is fire? What is it composed of?
What is fire? What is it composed of?
Fire is not a form of matter; it is a chemical reaction. Fire is not made of any actual materials, but instead it is the result of chemical reactions from heating certain materials while they are in contact with oxygen . At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition point, flames are produced. Flames consist primarily of carbon dioxide, water vapor, oxygen and nitrogen. Fire emits heat and light.
Fire comes from the reaction between oxygen in the atmosphere and a fuel, such as wood or gasoline. When the fuel comes into contact with oxygen and is heated to its ignition point, fire is made. A typical wood fire is created from heating wood to a high temperature with something like a match, focused light, friction, lightning or material that is already burning. When the wood heats, some of it decomposes, and it is released as volatile gases or smoke. The rest of the material is made up of char, which is carbon and ash, a mix all of the minerals in the wood that cannot be burnt. When the volatile gases or smoke are hot enough, the molecules break apart and the atoms recombine with the oxygen to form water, carbon dioxide and various other products. This reaction is known as burning. These chemical reactions create a lot of heat that sustains the fire. Fire is not really made up of things but instead is a result of chemicals coming into contact with one another.
Simply defined, fire is a chemical reaction in a mixture of incandescent gases, typically luminous with intense heat. But candle flames, wood fires, and propane fires aren’t created equal. What constitutes fire depends on the fuel being burned. The chemistry of each type of fire is different. They’re similar to the extent that all fires release energy stored in fuels, and if supplied with enough oxygen and enough time, eventually produce carbon dioxide and water. That’s the end game, . You can’t get more energy out of it without putting more energy in. All fires eventually burn themselves out, unlike solids, liquids, and gases, which can exist indefinitely in the same state.
Most of fire’s energy output is in the form of heat. As the gas mixture warms, it also rises and gives the flame its familiar teardrop taper. A flame holds its shape because chemical reactions happen at different places,. Imagine the pocket of fuel coming out from a gas burner on the stove. The only place combustion can happen is at the interface where fuel and oxygen meet. The fire starts at that boundary, and then reaches a steady state: the rate of oxygen entering the mixture, the rate of gas entering the mixture, and the rate of the CO2and water vapor being emitted stay the same.
Fire is not really made up of things but instead is a result of chemicals coming into contact with one another.
Fire is not a form of matter; it is a chemical reaction. Fire is not made of any actual materials, but instead it is the result of chemical reactions from heating certain materials while they are in contact with oxygen . At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition point, flames are produced. Flames consist primarily of carbon dioxide, water vapor, oxygen and nitrogen. Fire emits heat and light.
Fire comes from the reaction between oxygen in the atmosphere and a fuel, such as wood or gasoline. When the fuel comes into contact with oxygen and is heated to its ignition point, fire is made. A typical wood fire is created from heating wood to a high temperature with something like a match, focused light, friction, lightning or material that is already burning. When the wood heats, some of it decomposes, and it is released as volatile gases or smoke. The rest of the material is made up of char, which is carbon and ash, a mix all of the minerals in the wood that cannot be burnt. When the volatile gases or smoke are hot enough, the molecules break apart and the atoms recombine with the oxygen to form water, carbon dioxide and various other products. This reaction is known as burning. These chemical reactions create a lot of heat that sustains the fire. Fire is not really made up of things but instead is a result of chemicals coming into contact with one another.
Simply defined, fire is a chemical reaction in a mixture of incandescent gases, typically luminous with intense heat. But candle flames, wood fires, and propane fires aren’t created equal. What constitutes fire depends on the fuel being burned. The chemistry of each type of fire is different. They’re similar to the extent that all fires release energy stored in fuels, and if supplied with enough oxygen and enough time, eventually produce carbon dioxide and water. That’s the end game, . You can’t get more energy out of it without putting more energy in. All fires eventually burn themselves out, unlike solids, liquids, and gases, which can exist indefinitely in the same state.
Most of fire’s energy output is in the form of heat. As the gas mixture warms, it also rises and gives the flame its familiar teardrop taper. A flame holds its shape because chemical reactions happen at different places,. Imagine the pocket of fuel coming out from a gas burner on the stove. The only place combustion can happen is at the interface where fuel and oxygen meet. The fire starts at that boundary, and then reaches a steady state: the rate of oxygen entering the mixture, the rate of gas entering the mixture, and the rate of the CO2and water vapor being emitted stay the same.
Fire is not really made up of things but instead is a result of chemicals coming into contact with one another.
