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A burning candle. Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. [1] [a] At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition point, flames are produced.
Combustion was the first controlled chemical reaction discovered by humans, in the form of campfires and bonfires, and continues to be the main method to produce energy for humanity. Usually, the fuel is carbon , hydrocarbons , or more complicated mixtures such as wood that contain partially oxidized hydrocarbons.
The fire triangle or combustion triangle is a simple model for understanding the necessary ingredients for most fires. [1] The triangle illustrates the three elements a fire needs to ignite: heat, fuel, and an oxidizing agent (usually oxygen). [2] A fire naturally occurs when the elements are present and combined in the right mixture. [3]
Arguably the first chemical reaction used in a controlled manner was fire. However, for millennia fire was seen simply as a mystical force that could transform one substance into another (burning wood, or boiling water) while producing heat and light. Fire affected many aspects of early societies.
Chemical reactions such as combustion in fire, fermentation and the reduction of ores to metals were known since antiquity. Initial theories of transformation of materials were developed by Greek philosophers, such as the Four-Element Theory of Empedocles stating that any substance is composed of the four basic elements – fire, water, air and ...
Title page to the first edition. Intended for young beginners, for whom it is well adapted, as an introduction to the study of chemistry. [3]According to Frank Wilczek: . It is a wonderful laying-bare of surprising facts and intricate structure in a (superficially) familiar process — the burning of a candle.
Flames of charcoal. 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.
The alchemist and physician J. J. Becher proposed the phlogiston theory.. The phlogiston theory, a superseded scientific theory, postulated the existence of a fire-like element dubbed phlogiston (/ f l ɒ ˈ dʒ ɪ s t ən, f l oʊ-,-ɒ n /) [1] [2] contained within combustible bodies and released during combustion.