Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products.
A flame (from Latin flamma) is the visible, gaseous part of a fire. It is caused by a highly exothermic chemical reaction made in a thin zone. [1] When flames are hot enough to have ionized gaseous components of sufficient density, they are then considered plasma. [vague] [2]
The control of fire by early humans was a critical technology enabling the evolution of humans. Fire provided a source of warmth and lighting , protection from predators (especially at night), a way to create more advanced hunting tools, and a method for cooking food.
Fire is one of the four classical elements in ancient Greek philosophy and science. It was commonly associated with the qualities of energy, assertiveness, and passion. In one Greek myth, Prometheus stole fire from the gods to protect the otherwise helpless humans, but was punished for this charity.
Fire making, fire lighting or fire craft is the process of artificially starting a fire. It requires completing the fire triangle , usually by heating tinder above its autoignition temperature . Fire is an essential tool for human survival and the use of fire was important in early human cultural history since the Lower Paleolithic .
A structure fire is a fire involving the structural components of various types of residential, commercial or industrial buildings, such as barn fires. Residential buildings range from single-family detached homes and townhouses to apartments and tower blocks , or various commercial buildings ranging from offices to shopping malls .
A fire is contained in a firebox or fire pit; a chimney or other flue allows exhaust gas to escape. A fireplace may have the following: a foundation, a hearth, a firebox, a mantel , a chimney crane (used in kitchen and laundry fireplaces), a grate, a lintel , a lintel bar, an overmantel , a damper , a smoke chamber, a throat, a flue, and a ...
Illustration of St. Elmo's fire on a ship at sea Electrostatic discharge flashes across the windscreen of a KC-10 cockpit.. St. Elmo's fire (also called witchfire or witch's fire [1]) is a weather phenomenon in which luminous plasma is created by a corona discharge from a rod-like object such as a mast, spire, chimney, or animal horn [2] in an atmospheric electric field.