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What state of matter is fire?

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Solution

Solution

The state of fire is plasma (mostly). Science cannot precisely describe the true nature of fire, but to clear up the doubts of inquisitive minds, fire is most similar to plasma! Plasma resembles a gas more than any other state of matter, but it behaves very differently from a gas.

  • Fire is representative of a combustion reaction taking place in thegaseous state. Heat and light are just by-products of combustion.
  • In certain flames, asmallamount ofplasmamight also form by photo-ionization of nearby gaseous molecules.
  • Then again, the formation of plasma is very specific to the nature of combustion and reaction temperature.
  • We generally see flames in regions with finite boundaries and confuse it to be some different state of matter. If you have ever tried feeling a candle flame, you'll feel no physical difference as you pass your finger across it at a moderate pace, except for the heat.

Matter

Matter can be defined as the material substance that constitutes the observable universe. Matter, along with energy, is known to form the basis of all objective phenomena. In the fields of classical physics and general chemistry, the term matter is used to denote any material that has mass and takes up space by having volume.

States of Matter

The condition of the matter is one of the distinct forms that the various phases of the matter take. Four states of matter can be found in daily life: solid, liquid, gas, and plasma. Many other states, such as Bose – Einstein condensate and neutron degenerate matter, are considered to occur only in extreme conditions such as ultra-cold or ultra-dense matter. Other states, such as quark – gluon plasmas, are thought to be possible but remain theoretical for the time being.

Related questions

  1. What are the three states of matter ? Define each of them with two examples.
  2. What is Matter?

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