Is fire gas, liquid or solid?

Answer 1

None its light no mass


There are different elements to this
rapid oxidization creates a gas
photons release by oxidation creates the light. so the flame itself has no mass it is just light and heat. so it falls into none of these categories.


The smoke produced is a made of whatever fuel is burning it is small particles of unburned fuel. the more efficient the fire the less smoke.

So it can be none or all of these depending on the type of fire but if its the flames themselves your referring to it is not a solid, liquid or gas. its just light

P.S. The guy above me just copied and pasted his answer from wikipedia

Answer 2

Fire is a gas that results from a chemical change. That is, a solid, liquid or gas will combine with oxygen and release energy, and in the process will become a new gas with a different chemical makeup.

Answer 3

From http://chemistry.about.com/od/chemistryfaqs/f/firechemistry.htm

The ancient Greeks and alchemists thought that fire was an element. They also considered earth, air, and water to be elements. However, the modern definition of an element defines it by the number of protons a pure substance possesses. Fire is made up of many different substances, so it is not an element.

For the most part, fire is a mixture of hot gases. Flames are the result of a chemical reaction, primarily between oxygen in air and a fuel, such as wood or propane. In addition to other products, the reaction produces carbon dioxide, steam, light, and heat. If the flame is hot enough, the gases are ionized and become yet another state of matter: plasma



From http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/mar97/859297797.Ph.q.html

Fire, or perhaps I should say "flame," is a very hot gas. It is composed primarily of oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and water vapor. In a solid, the molecules are chemically bound to one another. In a liquid, the molecules are not bound, but are so tightly packed that they interact strongly with their neighbors. Gas molecules are widely spaced and interact only fleetingly with other molecules, like colliding billiard balls.

Oxygen and nitrogen don't become liquids until you cool them to temperatures below what can be found naturally on the Earth. If you pressurize carbon dioxide, you can make it solid (dry ice), but it cannot exist as a liquid at ambient temperature and pressure, which is why it "sublimates" into that spooky vapor rather than melting (thus "dry"). We are all familiar with the phases of water. Spray a small amount of water into a good fire, and I guarantee it will not stay a liquid.

When an organic materical (wood, wax, alcohol, etc.) burns, the bonds holding the carbon and hydrogen in the material are broken. The released atoms combine with oxygen to form carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O). The process is called oxidation, and gives off heat. The gas can reach a temperature over 1000 F (540 C). The hot gas rises, and more nitrogen and oxygen are drawn in at the base of the flame. The influx of oxygen allows the oxidation to continue.

Some of the energy in this heat is absorbed by the electrons in the gas. The electrons then radiate this energy as light, which is what we see. Extremely hot gas will radiate blue light, such as you see at the base of a candle. As the gas cools, the color changes to yellow, then orange, then red. When it cools enough that the electrons are back in their lowest energy state, the radiation falls into the infrared, which we can't see but feel as radiant heat. This radiation comes from the vibration of the molecules rather than from the electrons.

You can also change the color of the flame by injecting different materials into it. Each element (type of atom) has its own set of wavelengths (colors) at which it radiates. This is usually seen in the "cooler" part of the flame, where you might see green or red instead of orange, because it is at these cooler temperatures where the differences between elements are most significant.

The radiation from the hot gas also contributes to maintaining the fuel temperature required for oxidation to continue. If this radiative feedback disappears (in other words the flame dies), then the chemical reaction can't continue freely.

A long answer to your question, I know, but fire holds a funny place in people's minds. At one point in history, it was considered one of the elemental components of matter, along with earth, air, and water. It is still not uncommon for people to think it is some exotic state of matter. In fact, it is just a very hot gas, hot enough to give off light.

Of course, that doesn't mean it isn't a beautiful phenomenon. Even armed with this knowledge, I still love to stare into a good campfire! :-)

Answer 4

Fire is a rapid oxidation process that creates light, heat, smoke, and releases energy in varying intensities. It is commonly used to describe either a fuel in a state of combustion (e.g., a campfire, or a lit fireplace or stove) or a violent, destructive and uncontrolled burning (e.g., in buildings or a wildfire). The discovery of how to make fire is considered one of humankind's most important advances, allowing higher hominids to ward off wild animals, cook food, and control their own source of light and warmth.

A flame is an exothermic, self-sustaining, oxidizing chemical reaction producing energy and glowing hot matter, of which a very small portion is plasma. It consists of reacting gases and solids emitting visible and infrared light, the frequency spectrum of which depends on the chemical composition of the burning elements and intermediate reaction products.

Answer 5

It is a very very interesting question.
Fire is one of the five basic phenomena of this world (water, air, land, fire and universe). They are as well as called "Pancha Bhutha".
So fire cannot be a water or gas, land cannot be universe or fire and vice versa. Every individual phenomenon combine each other to form the wonderful atmosphere where we live.

Answer 6

Fire is heat, fuel and oxygen. Take away any one and you won't have fire. Fire is a process. Rock is solid, water is liquid, air is gas...fire is transforming heat.

Answer 7

Fire. in a simple sense. is the energy given off by the chemical reaction of the materials burning. This energy is seen as light and felt as heat.

Answer 8

Solids, liquids and gases can be set on fire, but the fire itself is made of hot gases with small particles of solids (could be unburnt carbon) floating.

Answer 9

It's a liquid, I think. Cause it turns into gas, and doesn't liquid turn into gas? [Ex. Water=Liquid & Steam=Gas]

Answer 10

gas