And would it be possible to melt wood into a puddle in the right conditions?
In: Chemistry
Because metal can be heated to its liquid transition temperature without combusting.
Combustion is an oxidation reaction, meaning oxygen has to attack the molecules of the fuel to burn. Wood and other fuels like gasoline are very easy to oxidize if you give them heat.
Metal isn’t like that. Metallic bonds are some of the strongest in nature. That means oxygen has a very difficult time pulling those molecules apart to burn them because they’re packed so close together.
That’s not to say you can’t burn metal- if it’s powdered it often becomes not only flammable but explosive. That’s because there’s a lot more surface area for oxygen to get in and attack those molecules.
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