Fire is a chemical process requiring three things to occur: oxygen, fuel and an ignition source. Without one of these factors, a fire canÕt start or will burn itself out. When a fire burns
Wildfire
A wildfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an uncontrolled fire in an area of combustible vegetation occurring in rural areas. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire can also be classified more specifically as a brush fire, bushfire, desert fire, forest fire, grass fire, hill fire…
Full Answer
What three things does a fire need to burn?
- A better heat absorption with a higher density than water.
- Carrying free radical catchers on the fire.
- Carrying foaming agents to enable water to stay on the surface of a liquid fire and prevent gas release.
- Carrying specific reactives which will react and change the nature of the burning material.
Does fire need fuel and oxygen to burn?
Fire needs oxygen to continue burning. Oxygen is an essential part of a fire and part of the “fire triangle” that sustains a fire. With enough oxygen in the atmosphere, the fire is sustained and can continue to burn its fuel supply. Therefore, one of the best ways to extinguish a fire is to get rid of the oxygen supply.
Why does a fire need air to burn?
- The supply of oxygen is increased so the fire burns brighter.
- The seat of the fire is cooled so the fire might go out.
- The fire (flame) is separated from the fuel and goes out (birthday cake candles).
Is fire burning or does it burn things?
No, fire itself is not a substance, and cannot catch fire. But if something is on fire, well, the fire is burning, so you can get into epistemological loops if you try to parse the molecular occurrences too finely. All the power, not all the cost.
How does fire happen?
Why does water put out fires?
Does water smother fires?
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Fire behaviour — Science Learning Hub
Fires behave differently. Some burn slowly and evenly; others are extremely hot, burning fiercely and quickly. Different fires have different coloured flames. Some fires start easily; others don’t. Some fires produce deadly gases that could kill you if not ventilated.
How does fire happen?
Fire is the result of applying enough heat to a fuel source, when you’ve got a whole lot of oxygen around. As the atoms in the fuel heat up, they begin to vibrate until they break free of the bonds holding them together and are released as volatile gases. These gases react with oxygen in the surrounding atmosphere. This chemical reaction causes a lot of heat, so much heat, in fact, that it can keep driving the reaction—as long as there’s enough fuel and oxygen still present, the reaction will become self-sustaining. The actual flames of the fire are the release of some of the heat energy as light.
Why does water put out fires?
Why does water put out fire? The primary role water plays in putting out a bushfire is cooling it down so there’s no longer enough heat to sustain the fire. When you pour water onto a fire, the heat of the fire causes the water to heat up and turn into steam.
Does water smother fires?
Less significant is the role water can play in ‘smothering’ a fire, depriving it of the oxygen that it also needs to burn.
How long does a fire burn?
A fire will burn as long as it has two things; fuel and oxygen. So in theory, if you have a fire and unlimited fuel to feed it, yes it would burn forever.
What causes a fire to burn?
When something burns, its a chemical breakdown in the materials that causes the rapid release of heat and light that we see as fire. The material is being broken down and the gases created through the breakdown are what ignite. If you light a match and look at it as it burns, you can see that the fire is never actually touching the wood, but instead is hovering just above it. As the heat breaks down the material the fire burns. If you light a match and set it on a hard surface such as a granite table you will see that wherever the match is laying on the surface is where the fire stops. The surface provides a barrier to stop the spread of the flame from breaking down the match further stopping the fire. Heat also rises so if you hold something that is on fire upside down it burns at a much higher rate. The chemicals in the substance burn at different temperatures, luminosities, and in different colour spectrums. If you can get lithium and burn it, it will produce a red flame because of the type of chemical that is being broken down. Boric acid burns at a different temperature, luminosity, and it burns with a green flame. Fun fact, as the fire burns it chemically transforms the substance being burned into a new one, and if you burn 2kg of sulfur you end up with 4kg of sulfur dioxide, but you still have 2kg of sulfur. Basically though, wood doesn't burn but the gases from it being heated are burned which create heat that transfers into the unburned material causing it to break down into gases and burn. This is what is called a self sustaining chemical chain reaction.
What is the region where combustion (or burning) of gaseous substabces takes place?
A flame is the region where combustion (or burning) of gaseous substabces takes place.
What does a combuster do to a stove?
The combuster takes heat from the exhaust stream and burns the unburnt soot particles (smoke and flame) into (mostly) CO2 and water. When the stove is properly burning, the smoke is clear and has almost no smell.
What is a solid and liquid fuel that does not vaporize on heating?
Those solid and liquid fuels which do not vaporise on heating, burn without producing a flame. For e.g. Coal, Charcoal.
What are the two types of flames?
Flames are of two types : Blue flame and Yellow flame.
What happens when a fire has no more fuel?
When a fire has no more fuel, or runs out of oxygen, combustion can no longer be supported, and it “burns itself out”.
How does wood burn?
The actual burning of wood then happens in two separate reactions: 1 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. 2 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.
What happens when wood is burned?
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.
Why does charcoal stay hot?
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.
How does the heat of a flame affect the temperature of the fuel?
The heat of the flame itself keeps the fuel at the ignition temperature, so it continues to burn as long as there is fuel and oxygen around it. The flame heats any surrounding fuel so it releases gases as well. When the flame ignites the gases, the fire spreads. On Earth, gravity determines how the flame burns.
What is the effect of heat on a light bulb?
As they heat up, the rising carbon atoms (as well as atoms of other material) emit light. This "heat produces light" effect is called incandescence, and it is the same kind of thing that creates light in a light bulb. It is what causes the visible flame. Flame color varies depending on what you're burning and how hot it is.
How does a flame spread?
When the flame ignites the gases, the fire spreads. On Earth, gravity determines how the flame burns. All the hot gases in the flame are much hotter (and less dense) than the surrounding air, so they move upward toward lower pressure.
Why doesn't wood catch fire?
Of course, wood and gasoline don't spontaneously catch on fire just because they're surrounded by oxygen. For the combustion reaction to happen, you have to heat the fuel to its ignition temperature. Here's the sequence of events in a typical wood fire: Something heats the wood to a very high temperature.
How does fire happen?
Fire is the result of applying enough heat to a fuel source, when you’ve got a whole lot of oxygen around. As the atoms in the fuel heat up, they begin to vibrate until they break free of the bonds holding them together and are released as volatile gases. These gases react with oxygen in the surrounding atmosphere. This chemical reaction causes a lot of heat, so much heat, in fact, that it can keep driving the reaction—as long as there’s enough fuel and oxygen still present, the reaction will become self-sustaining. The actual flames of the fire are the release of some of the heat energy as light.
Why does water put out fires?
Why does water put out fire? The primary role water plays in putting out a bushfire is cooling it down so there’s no longer enough heat to sustain the fire. When you pour water onto a fire, the heat of the fire causes the water to heat up and turn into steam.
Does water smother fires?
Less significant is the role water can play in ‘smothering’ a fire, depriving it of the oxygen that it also needs to burn.
