how is oxygen combustible but not flammable? If it feeds the fire isn’t it essentially the same thing?
In: Chemistry
If oxygen is combustible or not depends on what you define as combustible.
If we use the definition on [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combustibility_and_flammability](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combustibility_and_flammability)
>A combustible material is something that can combust (burn) in air. Flammable materials are combustible materials that ignite easily at ambient temperatures. In other words, a combustible material ignites with some effort and a flammable material catches fire immediately on exposure to flame.
Then oxygen is not combustible because you can’t burn it in the air. Oxygen in the air is required for combustion but you need something that can react with it, that is the fuel.
Oxygen is also not flammable because that require it to be combustible in the first place
Lets look at [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combustion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combustion)
>Combustion, or burning,[1] is a high-temperature exothermic redox chemical reaction between a fuel (the reductant) and an oxidant, usually, atmospheric oxygen, that produces oxidized, often gaseous products, in a mixture termed as smoke.
So oxygen can be and often is a part of combustion but as the oxidizer not as the fuel that gets oxidized.
Oxygen can be the fuel but you need a stronger oxidizer, if I am not mistaken Florine is the only option. But Florine is not a part of our atmosphere you oxygen is not combustible in the atmosphere.
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