in sci _ fi films you see fire in space how does this happen when we are told a fire needs oxygen to burn ?

Answer 1

It is a science fiction FILM ... a special effect designed to be candy to your eye.

You could have combustion in space, fire of a sort, but the mechanics of the reality of that would probably look nothing like a fire that we see and more like an explosion because any free oxygen would be moving like a very strong wind away from where it is into space and fire does support very well under a powerful wind like that.

But you are right, you would need oxygen, or an oxidizing agent to support combustion of a fuel and some fuels would combust even in wind ... it's just that the result would look nothing like fire.

Answer 2

Like those who believe that a gun would not fire a bullet in vacuum (space), those who believe that a "fire" would not burn in space are wrong...
A bullet would fire in space, because the cartridge powder contains its own OXYDANT (oxygen or other).
In space, if you have a "carburant" (fuel of any kind) AND an "oxydant" (i.e. oxygen), then you will have a fire!
You just need the two components to make a fire, but there are other things: an explosion is a rapid oxydation, or a nuclear reaction: this is also a kind of fire!
A space ship like the Enterprise can "blow up" in a very big (silent) bang: the reaction between matter and anti-matter will make a very nice "fire"... that is a rapid release of very high energy and temperature. Join to that a few tons of oxygen/nitrogen mixture suddenly exposed to the vacuum, and high heat from the core exploding, and the "air" around the ship (as well as all the rest) will start burning quite quickly... in silence if you are a few miles away, and in a very big (and brief) "BANG" (sonore) if you are in it. It will be brief and you will not have the chance to tell us!
So, YES, you can have fire in space...

Answer 3

The same way you hear the engine sound when the rocket flies in a sci fi film,though there's no matter in space,so sound can't be transmitted.Sci fi is not exactly scientific,it is rather based on what you would expect to happen out there,not what could actually happen.

Answer 4

The first guy had it right but I have to underscore. Oxygen does NOT burn. It is one part of a reaction that takes at least two parts. So oxygen plus fuel = burning or explosion. Just oxygen leaking into space will not burn no matter what.

Now when you see non-rocket propelled ships exploding in fireballs, well its just hollywood.

Here is an interesting note. Did you know that if you soak a lump of charcoal in liquid oxygen for half an hour and try to light it, it will go up like a quarter stick of dynamite?

Answer 5

Providing it has it`s OWN oxygen supply, you would see fire in space, in the same way you can witness flame underwater by way of a welding torch.

Answer 6

Because people also need oxygen to breath and oxygen is used to burn rocket fuel. So if you have people or rockets in space you have oxygen. Its likely to be PURE oygen, which is dangerous because anything organic tends to ignite rapidly in it.

There was in fact, a real explosion in space on the Apollo 13 mission

Answer 7

If the thing exploading has oxygen in it to start with, you will see that ignite and burn.

Otherwise, just for the effect.

Just like sound, nothing to carry sounds in space, but we hear sounds in films.

Answer 8

Same reason we hear lasers shooting when there is no sound in space. To us it just looks better

Technically there would be fire if the ships oxygen was escaping from a breached hull

Answer 9

The Sun burns in space.

Answer 10

not taking into account its a film...one could theorise that the oxygen inside a spacecraft were being combusted.....or the explosives used have their own oxidiser which does the same thing...