fire is not plasma
fire is a complex mixture of solids and gasses
a very clean flame (such as you get with burning pure hydrogen), with no tiny glowing solids in it, is often hard to see
the light of course comes from the energy released as the material combusts
much of the time, the actual combustion takes place in the gas phase
the flame above a candle is mostly made vaporized (gaseos) parafin burning in the gas phase
the shape of the flame reveals a "plume" like most gasses make when released in a light breeze, which, in this case comes from the hot air rising around the flame
2006-09-05 11:46:57
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answer #1
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answered by enginerd 6
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Anybody who says in any way that fire is a form of plasma is 1, a complete and total idiot and 2, someone with absolutely no knowledge as to what a plasma really is because if a flame was made up of plasma it would do these things:
1. It would be either attracted or repelled by the poles of a magnet or any form of magnetic field
2. It would induce an electric current in any closed circuit of any type of conductor of electricity when part of the conductor was placed in the flame
3. Would give off a significant magnetic field that would be very easy to measure
And finally
4. If it were plasma, the energy necessary to ionize the material burning in order to produce a "plasma flame" would require about 100 times the amount of energy, at the least, than what is normally given off by a flame.
And to answer your original question, a flame would be considered a solid because all a flame is made of is particles of soot or unburnt fuel that is heated until it is hot enough to give off light.
2006-09-05 11:54:06
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answer #2
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answered by Anonymous
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I don't believe fire is "plasma" (the fourth state of matter). Fire is the oxygen "burning" out of a material, leaving mostly carbon ash behind. Oxygen is a gas. Fire is simply a hot gas. For a gas to be plasma, it has to be ionized (stripped of some if not all of its electrons).
2006-09-05 11:45:42
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answer #3
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answered by Anonymous
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Fire is just extremely hot gas. This is usually just air being heated up as a reaction which gives out heat (eg. burning wood) occurs. It doesn't usually involve any chemicals unless you're burning liquids or gases - where it depends on the chemicals involved, but oxygen is usually involved because burning things uses up oxygen, and carbon dioxide is often given off when things are burnt.
2016-03-26 23:27:17
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answer #4
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answered by ? 4
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Flame is a chemical reaction. It is categoized as plasma because there is not really another "state" it could be in.
2006-09-05 11:46:14
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answer #5
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answered by nmtgirl 5
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I'm going to guess that it's gas, and it is heat and light, the byproducts of the chemical reaction of....wow good question. Dumb answer. I'm so dumb. I hate myself.
Oh....plasma.....hmm. Yay something to look up.
2006-09-05 11:42:59
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answer #6
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answered by Eugena 3
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its fire
the catalyst
brings the wax from solid to liquid to gas
T.H. Huxley wrote something nice about a candle 100 years ago I think
2006-09-05 11:43:19
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answer #7
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answered by Anonymous
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Fire isn't any of those things. It's "plasma."
2006-09-05 11:41:17
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answer #8
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answered by Maxwell 2
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try plasma
2006-09-12 08:49:59
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answer #9
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answered by shiara_blade 6
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plasma
2006-09-05 11:45:23
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answer #10
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answered by Anonymous
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