Why does a Flame defy gravity ?

Answer 1

It does not defy gravity, nothing does. What you see in a flame are the burning gases thrown off by the chain reaction of combustion. Because they are both heated and lighter than air by nature the visible quotient of gases (the flame) rises and appears to dance without constraint of gravity. Once however the gases cool as they rise away from the cource of combustion the heavier than air particles (embers and ash) carried aloft the heated air fall back to the ground.

Answer 2

Further to above answers, flame has very low mass and consists largely of ionised material. If a flame is subjected to an electric field, particles are attracted or repelled by the field which further gives the illusion that it can defy gravity

Answer 3

You need to think about what a flame is, exactly, in order to really understand what you're asking here.

When materials burn they tend to produce two things: light and heat. Both are byproducts of the release of energy created as the materials are consumed.

The flame is the 'light' produced by the process of burning. Even light is effected by gravity, however, and flame does not defy gravity.

Answer 4

The gasses that are released to keep the flame burning are lighter than, or a similar weight to air, hence they rise before combusting. Also, the gas will become lighter, as the particles are moving about faster, therefore the gas will have a smaller weight:volume ratio, which means the flame will rise first.

In a zero-grav situation, the flame will simply form a sphere around the source, as the gas goes equally in all directions.

Answer 5

Wow! thats a complicated one. To keep it simple, lets look at clean flames - ones that produce no soot.

Flames are just ionised gases. Ions are electrically charged and do not have the same 'accelaration due to gravity' rules that apply to normal solid matter.

The products of the flame (combustion), which are commonly water and carbon dioxide if your burning a simple hydrocarbon will be affected by gravity to a degree.

Hope that helps.

Answer 6

A flame is just a region of gasses which are chemically reacting so that the region is hot and is radiating heat and colour.Hot gasses are less dense than cold ones at the same pressure so consequently the thing we call a flame is OBEYING gravity by expanding and rising within the surrounding cold dense air.

Answer 7

fire = pyrotechnics.

chemical reations - such as fire contain a lot of energy. there is a certain explosive or so it is comonly thought of that is actualy just a fast burning material.

heat rises because the atmospheric densitys (thinner up top) induce heat to rise as hotter gasses etc are more active particles and need space basicaly.
same as how wood/metal expands warps and cracks through heat.

the very nature of fire is simply heat inducing a chemical reation of which additional heat is a result - and the visable flame the "body" of the heat is produced by the burning fuel source and expelled with the gasses etc(why the flame appears to go up) and constantly being replenished by the fuel it its self is burning.

Answer 8

It's not defying gravity anymore than an object propelled into the air by throwing. Heated air rises and then falls when it cools again.

Answer 9

Because, gravity only affects mass. A flame is not mass, it is heat and light energy.

Answer 10

A flame is a burning gas, which is sufficiently light to flow upwards.