Eli5: What are you seeing when you look at fire? Not the logs, but the part up high that’s emitting light?
In: Chemistry
Fun fact! When things get hot they give off light!
Even you! Just not enough to actually see.
When you look at the colourful part of a flame what you’re seeing is super hot ash basically.
Burning things don’t just disappear into nothing, they get turned into the ash and soot and smoke that gets left behind.
This super hot material gives off the light you see when you’re looking at a fire. Because heat rises this is going up into the air in a satisfying flickering fashion creating the effect of fire that we all know.
In the case of gas burners it’s pretty much the same. “But gas is invisible” I hear you say. Well.. sort of. We’re still in the realm of hot particles being shiny.
That’s a topic for another time though.
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