Fire

By Author: Jane Halop
Total Articles: 4762
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Fire
Fire is the oxidation of combustible materials to release light, heat as well as different reaction products like water and carbon dioxide. If it becomes hot enough, gases are ionized, producing plasma. The intensity of fire and the color of the flame would vary depending on outside impurities and the alighting of substances. In its most common form, fire can result to “conflagration”, causing physical damage by burning.
Flame
A flame is a combination of reacting solids and gasses that emit infrared and visible light called the “frequency spectrum”. This frequency spectrum is dependent on the chemical composition of intermediate reaction products and burning materials. In many instances like that of burning organic matter with incomplete combustion, the “soot” emitted from its incandescent solid particles is the one producing fire’s red-orange glow. This light features a continuous spectrum. As for complete combustion, fire will feature a dim blue color. This is the result of single wavelength radiation ...
... emissions of excited molecules that formed different electron transitions in flame. Hydrogen is usually involved in such cases. Other possible combinations would include fluorine, nitrogen tetroxide, and hydrazine.
The United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration or NASA recently discovered that gravity also plays a role on flame variations. Once gravity is modified, different types of flame are produced. In normal gravity conditions, the common distribution of flame is dependent on convection. In zero gravity or micro gravity like in outer space, there is no convection, resulting to a spherical flame that tends to become more efficient and bluer. NASA scientists believe that this is due to the even distribution of temperature in outer space, resulting to complete combustion and the malformation of soot. Further studies about this are being implemented because of the potential applications it can do to the industry and applied science, especially on fuel efficiency.
Controlling Fire
Having the ability to control fire played a major role in the lives of early humans. With fire, they were able to generate light and heat to cook food and thus increase the availability of nutrients and its variety. Fire is also responsible for keeping nocturnal predators at bay.
In Archaeology, it was indicated that our ancestors were able to control fire about 790,000 years ago. There was even reported evidence at the Cradle of Humankind site about the control of fire, which dates back to 1.8 million years ago.
Practical Uses of Fire
Fire has given us the convenience and it is currently used for so many things such as:
· for collecting honey (makes the bees come out);
· for recreational uses (bonfires, campfires and the like);
· for promoting new growth of burn-offs (clearing land for agriculture);
· for preventing wildfires and controlling burn-offs;
· for celebrations (birthday candles, firecrackers);
· for welding;
· for cremation;
· for fire-stick farming;
· for heat, light, and protection (survival, cooking and comfort);
· and for weapons of warfare (especially throughout medieval and ancient times).
Fire Protection and Fire Prevention
Currently, there are several fire-fighting services in developed communities to help contain or extinguish uncontrolled fires. Trained fire fighters along with water supply resources like fire hydrants and water mains use fire apparatuses. Others use class A or B foams, depending on what the fire is feeding on. There are also other equipments developed to combat spreading fires.
The purpose of fire prevention is to reduce the ignition sources. It is partially focused on the appropriate programs that can educate people from starting such fires. Tall buildings and schools conduct fire drills in order to prepare and inform the citizens on how to react when there is a building fire. When destructive fires are purposely started, this constitutes to arson, a criminal offense in almost all jurisdictions.
About Author:
Jane Halop is a freelance writer who is the author of articles such as How to Build a Fire Pit, How to Build a Brick Fire Pit, and How to build a Fire Visit Fire.