subject: The Chemistry Behind Heat [print this page] Fire, one of mankinds first discoveries, is simply the rapid oxidation of a material through an exothermic chemical process that is known as combustion. This process releases heat, light and a number of other various reaction bi-products.
The Flame
When burning something the flame is only the visible part of the actual fire. However, if the fire is hot enough, the gases released during the combustion process can become ionized to the point that they will produce plasma.
Did you know? The colour of a flame can vary and does not have to be yellow. This is because the flame colour will differ depending on what is being burned, because of any impurities that are consumed during the combustion process and even because of different fame or fire heat. This is because a flame is simply a mixture of solids and reacting gases that emit visible, infrared, and even is some instances ultraviolet light. The different colour flames occur because the frequency spectrum of the flame depends on the chemical composition of the actual fire.
What happens when a fire takes place?
Whenever a fire is encountered (even in controlled environments) there is a chance that it can result in conflagration, which has the potential to do physical harm or damage to human and animal life as well as to plant life and buildings. That said, fire is also an integral part of the ecological system in many biospheres around the world. This is because fires help to stimulate growth and even aid in the dispersal of seeds in various ecological systems. One of the most well-known biospheres that needs periodic fires to strengthen it can be found in the Cape Floral Kingdom is and around Cape Town, South Africa.
In areas where periodic fires are not part of the natural order of the biosphere it can cause problems such as water contamination, soil erosion and atmospheric pollution. All of which is dangerous to human and animal life.
How does a fire start?
A fire starts when a combustible material is combined with a sufficient quantity of an oxidizer (any oxygen-rich compound) and is then exposed to a source of heat that is high enough to ignite the material. The ignition point (or heat point) that certain materials ignite at differ from material to material and this point is referred to as the flash point. Once this flash point is reached the material needs to be able to sustain a rate of oxidation if true ignition is to take place. If the oxidation rate occurs a chain reaction is started which starts the fire.
