What is fire?Do stars and other heavenly bodies have fire!?

Question

What should be the exact definition of fire?Does fire need oxygen?If yes,then how it is present inside the earth or in stars where no oxygwn is present?Is oxygen necessary for all types of temperature rises caused due to rise in pressure,friction,resistance,fission,fusion etc.Is fire possible in vaccum?

Answer 1

OKAY....

Fire is an exothermic chemical reaction which converts carbohydrates and oxyden to energy and water... the water is given off as a gas (I'm not crazy!).

Stars do not have "fire" as you are thinking. They are giant balls of gass which give off energy from fission- a nuclear reaction which does not require oxygen.

Oxygen is only required for chemical reactions which need to consume oxygen- probably not the answer you were looking for, but true. None of the other causes of heat you mention require oxygen to occur. They have more to do with the physical properties of matter (atomic particles and such).

And fire, since it does require oxygen- which is lacking in a vaccuum, cannot "live" in a vaccuum.

...You can get odd-shaped flames in Zero g (on the space station), but that's not in a vaccuum.

Answer 2

I believe the problem is you have confused "fire" and "flame". A fire is a type of combustion reaction (and combustion is a subset of oxidation/reduction involving a hydrocarbon and oxygen). Flame is what you really meant to say. Flames are a by-product of fire, and is basically a low temperature plasma. Flame does exist in the sun, and plasma is found elswhere and often referred to as fire, such as St. Elmo's Fire that forms on the nose of the space shuttle and the Northern Lights.

Plasma is a state of matter where all electrons are stripped from the atom. One way to think of this is that the chemical reaction of combustion occurs so fast that the electrons are 'left behind'. Another would be to say that there is so much energy produced that the atoms are at an extremely excited state. The sun is a big fusion reactor, fusing two hydrogen atoms into a helium atom. (Hydrogen is one proton and one electron, Helium has two protons and two neutrons) The excess energy is given off as heat and light, (light or more generally radiation of all frequencies).

No, flames could not exist in a vaccum because there are no charged particles in a vaccum. But there are examples of "fire" without oxygen bieng consumed... like 'saint elmo's fire' and the northern lights, which is basically a bunch of excited ions in the atmosphere.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flame
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasma_%28physics%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire

Answer 3

wikipedia has the exact definition of fire - you can google it. Fire by it's definition is combustion of a fuel substance supported by oxygen and heat energy . It is possible to create some form of thermal reaction in a vacuum but by definition it is not a fire. Inside the earth there is no fire - there may be intense heat and magma but it is being created by intense friction and pressure - no fire. Heat and temperature rises can occur without oxygen but that would not be fire. The stars and our sun are the product of nuclear reaction whereby the atoms of matter are being broken down to release nuclear energy - no fire.

Answer 4

Fire is an rapid oxidation chemical reaction that requires oxygen and creates heat, light, and smoke.

Stars shine from thermonuclear fusion. When 2 hydrogen atoms are forced together at very high temperatures, and very high pressures (like the crushing gravity inside a star) they stick together and become different element- helium. When they stick together they release a LOT of energy as heat. The heat from the core spreads out and makes the rest of the star luminous (shine).

Answer 5

Fire is a chemical reaction. Oxygen is flamable, so it can sustain fire.

The inside of the Earth and stars are not on fire. Stars create light and heat through fusion. They are made out of plasma, not fire.

Answer 6

Fire is a rapid oxidation process which yields heat and light.

Stars use nuclear fusion, not oxidation, so they are not powered by fire.

Solid oxidizers could produce a fire, so fire is technically possible in a vacuum.

Answer 7

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