we were taught in high school that when a burning matchstick brought close to oxygen it burns more brightly.
so why dont we add oxygen to cooking gas so that we get more out of the gas?
2006-06-10 16:31:01 · 13 answers · asked by Dr. Atif 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Chemistry
Oxygen is only the supporter of combustion.
You said that a burning matchstick when brought close to oxygen burns brightly only.
The matchstick is burning due to red phosphorus only.when its brought nearer to oxygen its burning brightly.
The gas needs LP(liquified petroleum) to burn.We need not to add oxygen because oxygen is present in large quantities.
2006-06-10 16:34:33 · answer #1 · answered by babar 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
oh my! that is a BAD idea. By keeping the two separated it is many many times safer. Gas simply won't burn without the presence of oxygen. If you had the two mixed it and you lit it, it would burn all through the pipe all the way back to where oxygen was introduced. Make that explode!. The gas would be impossible to light without this happening.
When you light a gas burner, the oxygen (in the air) is introduced at the last possible second because that is where you need the fire. The flame cannot go back up into the pipe because there is no oxygen there.
I'll throw one more little tid bit at ya, when you have a leaking gas line, whether it be a main gas line or simply one in your kitchen- it is much safer to light this fire then to let the gas just spew out. By lighting it you are assured that a cloud of gas isn't forming. If you have a gas cloud it obviously will mix with the air and all you would need is one little spark and then you have KABOOM. It will be very very bad. When it is lit it is safe because for one a gas cloud cannot form and for two the flame cannot go back up the pipe for there is no oxygen in it.
Think of it this way, a common cigarette lighter contains only butane gas, there is flame only where it meets the air. If there was oxygen inside the lighter along with the burtane and you lit it there would be no reason why the fire wouldn't go inside the lighter, possibly exploding you wouldn't want that now would ya?
2006-06-10 16:41:36 · answer #2 · answered by cedykeman1 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
1. There is already oxygen in the air. No reason to add more.
2. Adding oxygen to the cooking gas would likey cause spontaneous combustion .
3. Even if you mixed oxygen at the point where you were burning the gas, the extra heat it would produce would not be cost effective (it would cost more to inject the oxygen than the additional heat it would produce).
2006-06-10 16:37:29 · answer #3 · answered by cliffinutah 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You need the right mixture of oxygen and fuel for a fire to burn its hottest. Your stove is designed to mix the fuel with the oxygen from the air in the right proportion. There is no sense adding oxygen to the fuel at the source, and then having to ship it all around, when there is plenty of oxygen available right at your stove when the gas comes out.
You can tell from the color of the flame whether there is the right amount of oxygen in the mix.
2006-06-10 16:40:28 · answer #4 · answered by ? 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Oxygen makes fire burn, period. Not just burn brighter. Without oxygen, no fire.
Why would you want to add more oxygen to a flame on your stove?
have you ever seen a tank of oxygen that has hit the floor too hard? Oxygen is like rocket power in the right container. It'll blow a hole through any wall.
2006-06-10 16:36:10 · answer #5 · answered by Fitchurg Girl 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your teacher did not teach you very well. It is that you have to have oxygen to have fire. You need a fuel as your cooking gas and you need oxygen to have flame. there is enough oxygen in the air to make most fuels burn as fire. The oxygen is in the air and is used by the fire.
2006-06-10 16:38:42 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You don't want to burn everything in the kitchen..
Combustion can occur when the cooking gas reacts with oxygen. If cooking gas and oxygen are kept together, it prob would burn your pipes and everything when you try to light it.
plus, oxygen is already freely availble.. dont worry. your gas stove will still light well.
2006-06-10 17:00:53 · answer #7 · answered by prep 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because if a pipe burst and caught fire, the fire would travel down the tube all the way to the source and explode. Like the guy somewhere above me said, it'd be capable of self-sustained combustion.
2006-06-10 16:42:13 · answer #8 · answered by Tony, ya feel me? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
When oxygen is freely available in air why should we pay for that too?
2006-06-10 16:39:04 · answer #9 · answered by Pearlsawme 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i believe that oxygen is more volatile than natural butane gas and also it is mostly odorless so a gas leak would be undetectable....
2006-06-10 16:35:30 · answer #10 · answered by susuze2000 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋