The six elements of the life cycle of fire are described by Dawson Powell in The Mechanics of Fire. These elements are input heat, fuel, oxygen, proportioning, mixing, and ignition continuity. All of these elements are essential for both the initiation and continuation of the diffusion flame combustion process.
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What is the chemistry of fire?
Fire is a chemical reaction that converts a fuel and oxygen into carbon dioxide and water. It is an exothermic reaction, in other words, one that produces heat.
How is fire related to physics?
“The physics of combustion determine when and where we have a fire. Basically, in order to have combustion you need fuel, something burnable; you need oxygen, which we’re surrounded by; and then you need a source of energy to kick start the combustion reaction.
What are the elements of fire chemistry?
Oxygen, heat, and fuel are frequently referred to as the “fire triangle.” Add in the fourth element, the chemical reaction, and you actually have a fire “tetrahedron.” The important thing to remember is: take any of these four things away, and you will not have a fire or the fire will be extinguished.
What are the 4 types of fire?
- Class A – fires involving solid materials such as wood, paper or textiles.
- Class B – fires involving flammable liquids such as petrol, diesel or oils.
- Class C – fires involving gases.
- Class D – fires involving metals.
- Class E – fires involving live electrical apparatus. (
What are the 5 types of fire?
- Class A Fires: “Ordinary” Fires.
- Class B Fires: Liquids & Gases.
- Class C Fires: Electrical Fires.
- Class D Fires: Metallic Fires.
- Class K Fires: Grease Fires or Cooking Fires.
- Choose the Right Fire Extinguisher.
- Complete Regular Training.
How does fire start chemistry?
Fires start when a flammable or a combustible material, in combination with a sufficient quantity of an oxidizer such as oxygen gas or another oxygen-rich compound (though non-oxygen oxidizers exist), is exposed to a source of heat or ambient temperature above the flash point for the fuel/oxidizer mix, and is able to …
Why fire is a chemical reaction?
Fire is the visible effect of the process of combustion – a special type of chemical reaction. It occurs between oxygen in the air and some sort of fuel. The products from the chemical reaction are completely different from the starting material.
What is the scientific name for fire?
Fire is a chemical reaction in which energy in the form of heat is produced. The chemical reaction is known as combustion. Combustion occurs when fuel or other material reacts rapidly with oxygen, giving off light, heat, and flame.
What is the best representation of the fire chemistry?
The Fire Tetrahedron Model The fire tetrahedron is a representation of the elements necessary for a fire to occur. The four faces of the tetrahedron are fuel, an oxidising agent (usually oxygen), heat energy, and an uninhibited chain reaction.
What state of matter is fire?
Fire is a plasma, not a gas or a solid. It’s a kind of transient state between being composed of the elements prior to ignition and the spent fumes (Smoke – solid particles and Gasses = Gas molecules.)
Is fire a thermodynamics?
Thermodynamics, as the branch of science that deals with the nature of heat and its conversion to other types of energy, can be used to describe fire.
What two chemicals can start a fire?
When potassium chlorate and ordinary table sugar are combined, and a drop of sulfuric acid is added as a catalyst, the two react violently with each other, releasing large quantities of heat energy, a spectacular purplish flame, and a great deal of smoke.
What is the symbol for fire?
The symbol of fire was a cue pointing towards transformation, the chemical variant being the symbol delta, which is also the classical symbol for fire.
What are the 3 causes of fire?
- Cooking. The number one cause of house fires is unattended cooking.
- Heating Equipment. When the weather turns colder, heaters are essential to heat our houses.
- Faulty Wiring. Your home’s wiring likely isn’t something that you think about often.
What are the 4 causes of fire?
According to the NFPA report, the top four causes of home fires and their resulting casualties are cooking, heating, electrical distribution and lighting equipment (installed wiring, outlets, switches, cords, plugs, power supplies, and lighting), and careless smoking.
What are five causes of fire?
- Heating Systems.
- Smoking.
- Electrical Appliances.
- Candles.
- Children & Fire.
- Old, inadequate wiring.
- Flammable Liquids.
- Christmas tree decorations.
What is fire made of?
Most flames are made of hot gas, but some burn so hot they become plasma. The nature of a flame depends on what is being burnt. A candle flame will primarily be a mixture of hot gases (air and vaporised paraffin wax). The oxygen in the air reacts with the paraffin to produce heat, light and carbon dioxide.
What is the full meaning of fire?
1 : the light and heat and especially the flame produced by burning. 2 : fuel that is burning in a controlled setting (as in a fireplace) 3 : the destructive burning of something (as a building) 4 : the shooting of weapons rifle fire. 5 : enthusiasm.
What is class ABCD fire?
Class A: Ordinary solid combustibles such as paper, wood, cloth and some plastics. Class B: Flammable liquids such as alcohol, ether, oil, gasoline and grease, which are best extinguished by smothering.
Can a fire start without heat?
Without heat, fuel and oxygen, fires can’t sustain themselves. You need heat or some ignition source to start a fire.
Is fire a matter or energy?
Since matter can be defined as “anything which occupies space and has mass or weight”, we can say that fire is a ‘matter’ because it occupies space and since it is a mixture of gases, it must have some mass. The light and the heat produced by the flame is energy.
Is fire made of atoms?
At what temperature does fire start?
How does a fire start? Everything has a certain ignition point, the temperature at which wood ignites (300 degrees Celsius), when wood is heated to this temperature, it releases hydrocarbon gases that mix with oxygen in the air and ignite and create a fire.
Is fire a chemical property?
A flame is a chemical reaction between two substances in a gaseous mixture. Normally, one of the substances is oxygen, and water and carbon dioxide are the products.