yagotmoxie

I've been trying to find information on the exact chemical reactions in which fire burns. Such as a piece of wood doused in kerosene, clothing, a house, skin. But I've had no luck. What I can find, I don't really understand.
Can any of you help?!?

__________________
I like jumping in puddles, I like dancing to 80's rock in front of my mirror, I like babbling on about WWII when I'm intoxicated, I like eating ice cream out of the bucket, I like sipping hot coco, I like eating burnt marshmellows

Oracle

I can give you the basics.

First of all, fire is a result of three things. Heat, Fuel, and Oxygen. All 3 are required for a fire to start.

Fuel can be almost anything. A piece of wood, the wick of a candle, a cloth, or even a gas.

Oxygen is neccessary because a fire needs to breathe. A fire will cease to exist if it is cut off from its oxygen supply.

__________________
The bubble is round.

Novicewriter

That pretty much sums it up...from what Oracle said.

__________________
"There are only two things that scare me...Dr. Evil and Carnies. You know, circus folk. They have small hands and smell like cabbage."

yagotmoxie

thanks for the info
but does anyone know exact chemical reactions or how fire moves... or if not, does anyone know how i can find this out?

__________________
I like jumping in puddles, I like dancing to 80's rock in front of my mirror, I like babbling on about WWII when I'm intoxicated, I like eating ice cream out of the bucket, I like sipping hot coco, I like eating burnt marshmellows

CrimsonMoon

I'll ask my chemistry teacher and get back to you on that. I do know one thing though... when using vegetable oil while cooking on your gas stove, be sure the flame isn't up to high or you'll have a huge fire. (I did that two nights ago.) Can't say that I was thinking about how much I put in at the time and I ended up with a badly burnt hand. So skin burns, and when it does it hurts. It feels like I keep getting stung in a constant motion- really hurts when water touches it.
But again I'll ask my chem. teacher and let you know.

__________________
"Remember to take joy in the small things life gives you, for no matter how bad life seems to be... something worse is always on it's way." ~Luisa

yagotmoxie

Thanks CrimsonMoon for the information Sorry you hurt your hand, but glad you could pass on the information of how it feels. And it would be great if you could ask your chemistry teacher for me. I actually had never even thought of doing that. Maybe I should go ask a chemistry teacher here for some information!
thanks for the help!

__________________
I like jumping in puddles, I like dancing to 80's rock in front of my mirror, I like babbling on about WWII when I'm intoxicated, I like eating ice cream out of the bucket, I like sipping hot coco, I like eating burnt marshmellows

Oracle

fire isn't a chemical reaction though... Flame isn't a chemical. Heat and light are the result of the combustion taking place because of the heat, fuel, and oxygen.

When certain chemical reactions take place, fire can be one of the products, but fire itself isn't caused neccessarily by a chemical reaction. It's just heat and light.

__________________
The bubble is round.

Philo

I found a web site that may help. Generally if I can't find something with a web search I try as many variations on search terminology as I can think of. e.g., I tried "fire +physics" and then I tried "Fire + Chemistry" both of these yielded nothing on Google so I went to Ask.com and typed the question "how does fire burn?" and the best result was http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/fireworks/fire.html

Its got an interactive flash based tool that looks cool. have fun.

americanwriter

Go talk to the experts. Visit your local fire chief or ask to talk to the local arson investigator. They'll want to know why you're asking and just explain that it's for a book and you want professional insight. If that isn't available to you, then find a book on Arson Investigation. Your local university may have one, or a public library may be able to get one in for you.

__________________
To know what you prefer, instead of humbly saying "Amen" to what the world tells you you ought to prefer, is to keep your soul alive -- Robert Louis Stevenson

http://oneamericanlife.blogspot.com

yagotmoxie

omg! thankyou so much guys! all of you, oracle, philo, and americanwriter.... as well as everyone else, you are of such great help
thanks!!!

__________________
I like jumping in puddles, I like dancing to 80's rock in front of my mirror, I like babbling on about WWII when I'm intoxicated, I like eating ice cream out of the bucket, I like sipping hot coco, I like eating burnt marshmellows

Spudley

I wonder if this link will help you? HowStuffWorks.com - How Fire Works. It seems give all the details you're asking for.

(Btw - I found it via google by querying "chemical reactions fire burning"... there looked like there were a couple of other useful links there too, so you may want to follow them up too )

__________________
Spudley Strikes Again
www.BadPuns.com
Poetic Threads
The Poetry Tree

yagotmoxie

thanks spudley! i went on all the search engines before and couldn't find n e thing.... thanks for helping me with this you guys! lol i really couldn't have done it without you

__________________
I like jumping in puddles, I like dancing to 80's rock in front of my mirror, I like babbling on about WWII when I'm intoxicated, I like eating ice cream out of the bucket, I like sipping hot coco, I like eating burnt marshmellows

crzywriter

well, it's a combustion equation (see chemistry class is useful every once in a while)

that means you've got a something like, for simplicities sake, a hydrocarbon (that's hydrogen and carbon). you mix it with some oxygen

and voila...now if everything happens right, you end up with water and carbon monoxide

if i remember right, things do get more complicated when you add more complicated things, but i think that in the end you take out the water and carbon dioxide, and whatever's left over is...well, left over.

not sure if that was even slightly helpful