Eli5: What are you seeing when you look at fire? Not the logs, but the part up high that’s emitting light?

Question

Eli5: What are you seeing when you look at fire? Not the logs, but the part up high that’s emitting light?

In: Chemistry

Answer 1

There is an exothermic (gives off heat) chemical reaction between the air and the carbon in the logs. The color of the flame (usually yellow in this case) is a good indication of the flame’s temperature.

You are seeing the heat being released by the chemical reaction that shows up as a color of a certain wavelength.

On your gas stove, natural gas and air produce a blue colored flame, which is a higher temperature than the flame produced by the log.

https://maggiemaggio.com/color/2011/08/fire-ii-color-and-temperature/