What state of matter is fire?

Answer 1

This is a very interesting question, with many diverging opinions. Here are the facts you should know:

1. Fire is a gas.

First, fire does have a state of matter, and it is considered by physicists to be a gas. When something burns, its atoms absorb and release energy as light and heat. Depending on the type of material you use, you can get different coloured fire (think fireworks). The colour of the fire corresponds to the energetic states of the atom.

For example, table salt (sodium chloride) gives a yellow flame. Borax detergent (sodium borate) gives a yellow-greenish flame.

2. Fire is NOT a plasma.

Plasma is so energetic that its particles can conduct electricity. However, fire does not have this conductive property. It is just not hot enough to be a plasma.

Answer 2

Fire is a chemical reaction, but the elements in the fire have to be gases. Take a candle as an example. The solid wax or parafin has to melt before the wick can transport it to the ignition source, but even the liquid doesn't burn until it evaporates. Note the gap between the wick and the surrounding flame. That's formed by the vapor pressure of the evaporating wax. When it's diffuse enough to react with oxygen, it burns.

In a wood fire, you may hear hissing or see small jets of flame in the burning wood. That is wood being turned into a combustible gas by the heat pressure of the fire.

Answer 3

Fire is NOT Matter. It is an Effect of Combustion
Effects do not have any state of matter and depend on the causal elements that cause it
For example, Fire is caused by Oxygen, Heat, combustible materials etc. Therefore it cannot be classified as either of the three known states of matter.
It may be included in the fourth state of matter ie Plasma

Answer 4

Fire is an ionised plasma state. The colours you see are caused by electrons being excited to the next energy level within the electron shell and falling back down. If you want to see different colours, just throw a pinch of salt into a flame, the different colours are caused by the electrons within the sodium atoms.

Hope this helps

Answer 5

fire is a just a form of energy because just like a quanta it dosen't have a mass.the other all states have specific mass for a given quantity.we can't find the mass of fire.so simply fire is not a stste,but a form energy.it is formed has a result of chemical reactions called exothermic reactions.during this reactions high energy is released.it will be in form of light&heat.this heat will escape as fire.

Answer 6

Matter is anything that has mass and occupies space. The flame itself is a mixture of gases (vaporized fuel, oxygen, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, water vapor, and many other things) and so is matter. The light produced by the flame is energy, not matter. The heat produced is also energy, not matter.

Answer 7

Lest see first we will understand what is fire and how it takes place ...................it will answer your question...............
lets see when any one talk about the fire...............it no doubt a chemical reaction.....................but chemical reaction of What.....?
if the question in your mind is about the fire on the earth...........where we have lots of oxygen and carbon........then its basically ..........some form of carbon converts in to C-O2...
because it is one of the most stable product of carbon and oxygen...........
now when we burn any inflamable product such as simple wax, clowth............wood....petrol.................kerosene...........which is avlalible on this planet................must contain some amount of carbon..........when we by some process exciate this carbon.........product it gose to the higher energy state and now ready to react with the oxygen present in the atomshpher.....
(you can not produce fire in vaccum i.e. without oxygen).............
and when it react with the oxygen it is exhothermic reaction i.e. heat is liberated during the reaction..................but what we see is bacically a plasma..........i.e. mixture of gasses or some intermediate product in the ionised state.........
you may see the fire on other planets example sun...........but there you dont have an oxygen.................there it is in the form of a nuclear reaction.................it is entirely different .................phenomenan...........
all the best

Answer 8

then say the state of shadow,light,enegy.

as answered before it is not a chemical reaction

these all with fire as the same state (i.e)state less

Answer 9

It's not a state. A flame is a combination of chemical reactions, fluid mechanics, heat transfer. When I was an undergraduate I attended a colloquium about flames. It was quite interesting.

Answer 10

Plasma, the 4th state of matter.