What exactly is a flame made of? And why does it have that specific shape?
In: Physics
The flame is made of hot gas rising out of the “burning” matter and undergoing the actual chemical reaction of burning with oxygen. For example, if you are burning some firewood, the wood itself has to become hot enough first so that some of its compounds evaporate and become gas. This gas then mixes with oxygen in the air and burns, producing the flame. This reaction produces a whole lot of heat, keeping the wood hot and continuing to evaporate more compounds which can then burn and so on, until there aren’t any volatile (i.e. able to evaporate) compounds left in the wood.
Latest Answers