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What's fire made of?

Mister Snee

21:54 / 26.12.03

Okay. So it emits light and it's hot. It's amorphous. It tends to go upwards.

So what on earth is it MADE OF? What's the substance that's emitting the light? When you look into a candleflame, what is that?

Jack Fear

22:43 / 26.12.03

Dude.

What is walking "made of"? What is a sonic boom "made of"? What is an earthquake "made of"?

It's a non sequitur question.

Fire is not a substance--it's a process.

SMS

04:29 / 27.12.03

It's made of the stuff you put into it. The light and heat are emitted because the chemical reactions involved in fire have energy left over.

That's a scientific answer, as is Jack Fear's. A philosophical answer is more complicated.

Pepsi Max

06:38 / 27.12.03

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/021122.html
http://cityofbrookings.org/departments/firedept/whatsfire.php

distractile

08:38 / 27.12.03

This gives a bit of additional detail, particularly about the various components of a flame.

Scrambled Password Bogus Email

09:19 / 30.12.03

I always thought it was plasma - -high energy electrons stripped of their proton/neutron nucleus.

ho hum.

bjacques

12:53 / 30.12.03

It's phlogiston! What's left is calx! Damme, sir, don't they teach *anything* in alchemy these days!??

Keith

17:49 / 30.12.03

hahaha you beat me to it sire! Phlogiston i prithee.

Mister Snee

01:25 / 07.01.04

Thanks for the replies, everyone. I not only got my answer but also found out I'd asked the wrong question (I meant "flame" not "fire", to be pedantic), so that's pretty good! ^-^

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