Is fire tangible?

Question

My roommates and I are arguing over this. I say it's tangible, they say it's intangible. All the evidence I've found online so far has implied that fire is tangible; I've found nothing to corroborate the argument for intangibility.

Please only respond if you can definitely say whether fire is tangible or intangible and provide a reason.

Answer 1

look at what it means to be tangible.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/tangible
So fire can be touched (of course you will get burned) and it is not imaginary. Saying fire isn't tangible is like saying water isn't tangible.

Answer 2

I can understand your confusion, and the definition below does nothing to definitively clarify the question:

tan·gi·ble (tnj-bl) KEY

ADJECTIVE:


Discernible by the touch; palpable: a tangible roughness of the skin.
Possible to touch.
Possible to be treated as fact; real or concrete: tangible evidence.
Possible to understand or realize: the tangible benefits of the plan.
Law That can be valued monetarily: tangible property.
NOUN:

Something palpable or concrete.
tangibles Material assets.
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The definition actually seems to contradict itself, doesn't it?
I don't know whether this seems reasonable, but.............
If a chair is sitting in a room filled with fire, and burns completely away, hasn't it literally been CONSUMED by the fire? Wouldn't that act have proven that fire IS tangible--the matter which constituted the chair is still there, but in a different form. Didn't we learn that matter could be neither created or destroyed, only changed in form?

Answer 3

Fire is a condition of matter. Tangible things like wood or gasoline are ignited to create light heat and flame. The flame you see is a chemical reaction of those particles and oxygen. Furthermore, the flame you see is not imaginary, or illusory. It has measurable attributes (such as temperature), it is movable, and it is discernible by touch, sight, and smell. Fire is a tangible byproduct of a chemical reaction.

You're the winner! Have them buy you a beer.

Answer 4

It depends upon how you define fire. If you mean only the flames, then it is intangible. If you include the burning material it is, of course, tangible.

Answer 5

yes, fire is tangible. you can feel it and touch it

Answer 6

Can you see it, taste it, touch it, smell it, hear it? The answer to those questions is your answer.

Answer 7

YES
TOUCH IT,
IS IT THERE?