Fire is a chemical reaction whcih needs three things to be present so it can happen: Oxygen, Fuel, and Heat.
If one of these is not present, the fire cannot start. If one of these is taken from a fire it will go out.
But how does this all work?
Oxygen
We all breathe Oxygen (O²) everyday - in fact, without it we would suffocate. But did you know that fire breathes Oxygen too? And, like us, without Oxygen a fire will also suffocate.
When Oxygen in the air combines with flammable vapours given off by Fuels - heat is produced and then ignition can occur.
Without enough Oxygen, ignition cannot happen. In the opposite way, if there is too much Oxygen then the vapours won't be concentrated enough to ignite. The ratio of vapour to Oxygen is known as the 'explosive' or 'flammable' limit and is different for each gas or vapour.
Heat
Combustion occurs when flammable vapours mix with air (Oxygen) and are ignited by a spark or flame.
Solids give off flammable vapours by being heated. Certain solids such as paper or flour appear to ignite almost instantly. This is because they give off vapours and reach a flammable temperature almost immediately. In fact, fine dusts dispersed in the air can explode because they give off vapours and ignite so quickly it appear to happen instantly.
Other solids like timber take longer to ignite because they are more dense and so don't give off flammable vapours so easily.
Fuel
So, in our fire triangle we've got Oxygen and Heat, but we also need something that will burn - this is our Fuel.
Fuels can take almost any form:
Solids like wood, fabric, rubber and plastic.
Liquids such as petrol, oil, cooking oil or even nail varnish remover.
Gases like propane, butane and 'natural' gas.
If a fire broke out in your home today, would you automatically know which fire extinguisher to use? What would happen if you used a Class A fire extinguisher on a fire in the electrical service panel in your basement? Answer: you'd possibly be electrocuted if the extinguishing agent is a liquid!
A long time ago, the fire protection industry recognized the need to classify extinguishers according to the many kinds of burning materials encountered in a fire. For example, Class A, water-type fire extinguishers cannot be used on the electrical fires because the extinguisher operator could be seriously injured by the conduction of electricity by the stream of water from their extinguisher.
For the first phenomena, he noted how all combustions involved the formation of fire or light. With that in mind, Lavoisier also observed that this combustion occurs only through dephlogisticated air / pure air. Other airs (e.g. carbon dioxide) act as a fire extinguisher similar to that of water. Another combustion phenomenon he outlined was how the weight of the burnt material directly relates to the amount of air used in the reaction. Moreover, he also described how certain substances turn into acids after it has been burn...
4. Exhaust: After the Air/Fuel mix has been burnt, the remaining chemicals in the cylinder (water and CO2 for the most part) must be removed so that fresh air can be brought in. As the piston goes back up after combustion, the exhaust valve opens allowing the exhaust gasses to be released. Ideally an engine takes in air (oxygen and nitrogen) and fuel (hydrocarbons) and produces CO2, H2O, and the N2 just passes through.
Combustion is a rapid, continuous reaction that usually takes place in the gas phase. Wood is an organic compound primarily comprised of cellulose. For wood, the phase change from a solid to gas is almost instantaneous as combustion occurs (Coleman, et al. 95). Ignition occurs when an outside source is no longer needed to sustain combustion (Coleman, et al. 87).
The burning of the materials is a complex process. Combustion of any material requires three components: heat, oxygen and combusting material or fuel. When heat is applied to the composites materials, temperature of the materials increases. At particular temperature, pyrolysis temperature, materials start to decompose, and produce
Although fire is linked to human life, as it is essential for survival, not only its use for food, security and warmth, particularly in the extreme cold weather
For as yet scientifically unknown reasons, times occur when an unsuspecting person can just burst into flames and be incinerated. This is referred to in the scientific world as Spontaneous Human Combustion or SHC. There are many documented cases throughout history. The earliest cases go as far back as the early 16th century. Then there are the ones that are as recent as 1998 but have no better explanation of what happened then the ones in the 16th century did.
which is actually hot, like fire, makes something which is potentially hot, like wood, to
Scientists have been finding new things about new creatures daily. Dragons are one of those many creature. They are very large with claws, fangs, and enormous wings. They also happen to breathe fire. Scientists have been pinning over questions about them for many years. The question that has been most researched is: How could dragons have breathed fire? Now, finally, they found an answer. Actually they found many, but the answer magic won’t due, scientists have found scientific ways in chemistry and other sciences. So let’s burn our way through the three theories about how dragons can breathe fire and ignite curiosities even further.
There are different classes of fire and extinguishers which depends on what is on fire. This is important to familiarize with to be able to know what type of extinguisher should be used in case of fire.
...r it is arson, an uncontrolled camp fire, or a cigarette butt it doesn’t take much for humans to spark a disaster. Yet there is as well a few set by good old Mother Nature. On top of the effects on the earth as well as humans, there is only one thing we all can do and that is listen to our old pal Smokey the Bear when he says, “only you can prevent wildfire.”
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In my point of view, fire is one of the most terrible, horrifying and dangerous things that may happen to our vessel especially in a container ship. In this incident for me as a student and future seafarer, I cannot avoid thinking about on how the fire started and how to avoid it. Fire while in a vessel is a very complicated and maybe the worst nightmare that may happen to a seafarer. In this incident some of the most dangerous thing that may happen incident may be either being suffocated, being burned into flame or being drowned.
means burning with a lack of much oxygen. If there isn't enough oxygen available for
Creating the awareness among the students helps them on the various ways to avoid fires. If possible students are advised to ensure that all the fire alarms and extinguishers are in working conditions at all times. They should also be careful and alert when using any appliance that is likely to cause a fire and avoid using anything that is prohibited in the rooms.