What is the difference between flammability and oxidation?
In: Chemistry
I just wanted to add that on chemical warnings, “oxidizer” means a chemical that intensifies a fire.
oxidation is not necessarily an energetic reaction. It simply transfers electrons from one particle to another, forming a chemical bond. In the case of rust, Iron bonds with Oxygen and “oxidizes” into rust. But that process does not create any appreciable heat, and doesn’t catch fire.
Flammability is the ability to catch fire. In the case of highly reactive substances, like Sodium, mixing it with water causes an intense reaction which breaks the chemical bonds of the water, uses part of that to create sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) and fills the rest with hydrogen gas, which then immediately catches fire because of the heat formed during the reaction. Result: Big badaboom.
Something can oxidize without lighting on fire. Like a car bumper rusting. Combustion is a type of oxidation that happens so fast that the surrounding air glows from heat.
To expand on the other replies here, fire is usually not a solid object burning in and of itself. Instead, it’s a hot object emitting fumes that burn in the air, where they’re much better mixed with oxygen.
For example, when you burn a candle, the wick mostly isn’t burning. It’s just hot enough for wax to be evaporating off of its surface, and then the resulting wax vapors burn in the air.
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