I understand there are 4 states of matter. Solid, liquid, gaseous, and plasma.
So my question is: in what state is fire???
I’ve done some googling, and apparently this question is a little hard to answer. It takes on some properties from three states, but is technically none of them.
Please someone put me out of my misery and educate this poor stupid human.
In: Chemistry
“Fire” isn’t really a state. It’s the result of a chemical reaction. Specifically, exothermic (energy release) oxidation, where (generally) a more complex organic (carbon-containing) molecule breaks down in the presence of oxygen to produce CO2. This releases energy previously stored in the bonds of the fuel source, which assists in nearby bonds similarly braking and releasing *more* energy in a runaway reaction known as *burning*. The energy coming off these molecules becomes both light and heat.
So, fire is not a state of matter, but the visible result of molecules changing, usually from solid or liquid to gas, but the ‘fire’ part of that isn’t contained in a state itself.
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