what is Fire?

Question

i know it is a exothermic chemical reaction, but really, when you think about that, it means nothing. I know it is heat, and light, but that also means nothing, because i can see light, and feel heat, when it is not being fire. And, if light can act like both a particle, and a wave, what is fire, a particle, or a wave?

Answer 1

The best way to see how fire behaves as a wave would be to set it in front of a spectrometer and see what kind of spectral lines it emits. Light of any kind can be considered both a particle AND a wave; this is what quantim theory tells us.

Lightbulbs have "fire" in them too....in the form of tungsten glowing at a high temperature. You could condier this glowing as millions of massless photons being emitted and absorbed by your eye. These photons, while considered to be particles...also have a wavelength. Our eyes only see 400nm-700nm wavelengths of light. (Think of what is happening to UV light). I'm not trying to lecture you with stuff you already know....but the main thing is is that light is both a particle and a wave at the same time.

Answer 2

"Exothermic chemical reaction" DOES mean something- even when you think about it.

Essentially it is plasma (simple answer): a superheated gas (which also releases light) and is produced from the chemical conversion of carbohydrates to their constituent compounds.

In cellular metabolism, there is a sort-of stair step chemical process which does the same thing to carbohydrates over a longer period than flame, as well as storing the energy in chemical bonds- easily distributable throughout a body. And good thing too- without it, organisms wouldn't last very long (they'd make a bit of a "fwoosh!" sound).
...So the "Fire is Alive" submitter is nearly, almost correct in a very general sense. I wouldn't use it in a term paper, but there you have it.

SO. A plasma created from the direct products of an exothermic chemical reaction. See? It does make sense!


Oh yeah, that last bit. The light produced in what is commonly termed "fire" remains both/either/neither (select whichever term applies to the level of physics to which you currenlty adhere) a particle and/or/nor (and again) a wave. See, fire itself isn't really an individual object, nor is it light any more than it is heat. The chemical reaction which produces the ~illusion~ known as fire also produces the heat and light.

Answer 3

Fire is heat and light... that really hurts! think of the sun ... fire is like it but maybe 1hundredth of 1%! And I think it's both particle and wave ... HEAT WAVE and the particle part i'm not sure but it is! but i'm an idiot in this stuff so don't take my word for it.

Off topic: Can you answer my last question please? If not it's okay but if so THANK YOU!

Answer 4

fire is alive.
Students in most elementary schools are introduced to "the five qualifiers of life". These five rules of thumb are designed to help determine whether an object is alive or not. The five rules are:

1. Does it move?
2. Does it eat and excrete?
3. Does it react to stimuli?
4. Does it grow or repair itself?
5. Does it reproduce?

[Photograph of forest fire]With a little thought it is easy to confirm that all these so-called "laws" apply to humans. One can also use these rules to demonstrate that an organism as simple as lichen is alive. However, these rules are not perfect, and the clinching proof of this imperfection is fire.

Answer 5

Both. As a particle it leaps on your arm and burns you, so you wave to try to get it off.

Answer 6

It is energy being converted into heat and you are actually getting to see the conversion in action.

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