A large bonfire

Fire is a form of combustion. Most typically, the word fire refers to the combination of the brilliant glow and large amount of heat released during a rapid, self-sustaining exothermic oxidation process of combustible gases ejected from a fuel. The flames are a body of gas that releases heat and light. Fires start when a fuel is subjected to heat or another energy source, e.g. a match or lighter, and are sustained by the further release of heat energy until all the combustible fuel is consumed. Large Bonfire File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Large Bonfire File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... A bonfire or balefire is a large controlled outdoor fire made from bales of straw or wood. ... Combustion or burning is an exothermic reaction between a substance (the fuel) and a gas (the oxidizer) to release heat. ... A red-hot iron rod cooling after being worked by a blacksmith. ... The most fundamental reactions in chemistry are the redox processes. ... Gas (actually, as), the GNU assembler, is the default GCC back-end. ... For the workstation, see SGI Fuel. ... Household safety matches burning match A match is a simple and convenient means of producing fire under controlled circumstances and on demand. ... See: Lighter (fire starter) - a handheld fire starter Lighter (barge) - a type of barge Lighter than air This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

The word fire by itself often designates uncontrolled fires rather than referring to controlled fires.

Controlling fire

Log in fireplace

Small open fire

Controlling fire for the purposes of providing heat and light was one of humankind's first great achievements. It made possible migration to colder climates which otherwise would have remained out of reach for colonization. It also allowed for cooking food and using flame and heat to process materials. Archaeology indicates that ancestors of modern humans such as Homo erectus seem to have been using controlled fire as early as some 790,000 years ago. The Cradle of Humankind site has evidence for controlled fire 1 million years ago. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2283x1200, 363 KB) Log in a fireplace File links The following pages link to this file: Fire User:Fir0002/Fir0002 gallery ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2283x1200, 363 KB) Log in a fireplace File links The following pages link to this file: Fire User:Fir0002/Fir0002 gallery ... Photo of an open fire at night, flames rising to ~1m. ... Photo of an open fire at night, flames rising to ~1m. ... A red-hot iron rod cooling after being worked by a blacksmith. ... Prism splitting light Light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength that is visible to the eye, or in a more general sense, any electromagnetic radiation in the range from infrared to ultraviolet. ... Binomial name Homo sapiens Linnaeus, 1758 Subspecies Homo sapiens idaltu (extinct) Homo sapiens sapiens Human beings define themselves in biological, social, and spiritual terms. ... Colonization (or colonisation) is the act where life forms move into a distant area where their kind is sparse or not yet existing at all and set up new settlements in the area. ... Cooking is the act of preparing food for consumption. ... Importance and applicability Archaeology is the study of human nature and attempts to illuminate the question of what it means to be human. ... Binomial name Homo erectus Dubois, 1894 Homo erectus (upright man) is a hominid species that is believed to be an ancestor of modern humans. ... The Cradle of Humankind is a World Heritage Site first named by Unesco in 2000, a half-hour-long drive northwest from Johannesburg, South Africa 20 miles (30 km) distant. ...

Fire and religion

Fires and burning have often been used in religious rites and symbolism, as the smoke of the fire disperses into the heavens. Fire is one of the four classical elements, as well as one of the five Chinese elements. In Hinduism fire is one of five sacred elements of which all living creatures are comprised and is considered an eternal witness essential to sacred religious ceremonies. In Christianity, fire is a symbol of the Holy Spirit and is often used in descriptions of Hell. Fire is constantly used by the Zoroastrian religion in order to represent the Ahura Mazda, or God, of the Zoroastrians, including the fire at Yazda, which has been burning for over two millenia. Fire is also an important part of Calcinatio, the fire operation in the art of alchemy. Religion—sometimes used interchangeably with faith or belief system—is commonly defined as belief concerning the supernatural, sacred, or divine, and the moral codes, practices, values, and institutions associated with such belief. ... Smoke is a suspension in air of small particles resulting from incomplete combustion of a fuel. ... Several ancient Classical Element ideas exist. ... In traditional Chinese philosophy, natural phenomena can be classified into the Five Elements (Chinese: 五行; pinyin: ): wood, fire, earth, metal, and water (木, 火, 土, 金, 水; mù, huǒ, tǔ, jīn, shǔi). ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Christianity is a Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament writings of his early followers. ... The Holy Spirit, or Holy Ghost, in Trinitarian Christian belief, is God, the third Person of the Holy Trinity; the word Spirit commonly translates the Greek New Testament word pneuma. ... Medieval illustration of the Mouth of Hell Hell is a place of torment and pain. ... Zoroastrianism was adapted from an earlier, polytheistic faith by Zarathushtra (Zoroaster) in Persia very roughly around 1000 BC (although, in the absence of written records, some scholars estimates are as late as 600 BC). ... Ahura Mazda In the Zoroastrian faith, Ahura Mazda is abstract and transcendent. ... Zoroastrianism was adapted from an earlier, polytheistic faith by Zarathushtra (Zoroaster) in Persia very roughly around 1000 BC (although, in the absence of written records, some scholars estimates are as late as 600 BC). ... Alchemy is an early protoscientific practice combining elements of chemistry, physics, astrology, art, semiotics, metallurgy, medicine, mysticism, and religion. ...

Material used to start fires

The burning of wood is often the first association to the word fire, and trees have since ancient times supplied much of the energy needed by humans. In the past, metal smelting and charcoal production consumed large quantities of wood for their production. Nowadays, large scale energy is usually not produced by fires of burning wood, but has been replaced by hydrocarbon petroleum and coal, and in some cases nuclear energy or renewable energy sources. Wood burning remains a heat source in many Third world countries and where other sources of energy are unavailable, often leading to deforestation. Accelerants can be used to spread fire faster or have it burn hotter. A news/talk radio station on the frequency of 1300 AM in Grand Rapids, Michigan. ... The coniferous Coast Redwood, the tallest tree species on earth A tree can be defined as a large, perennial, woody plant. ... Hot metal work from a blacksmith In chemistry, a metal (Greek: Metallon) is an element that readily forms ions (cations) and has metallic bonds, and metals are sometimes described as a lattice of positive ions (cations) in a cloud of electrons. ... Charcoal is the blackish residue consisting of impure carbon obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents of animal and vegetable substances. ... In chemistry, a hydrocarbon is any chemical compounds that consists only of carbon (C) and hydrogen (H). ... Nodding donkey pumping an oil well near Sarnia, Ontario, 2001 Petroleum (from Latin petra – rock and oleum – oil), crude oil, sometimes colloquially called black gold, is a thick, dark brown or greenish flammable liquid, which exists in the upper strata of some areas of the Earths crust. ... Coal is a fossil fuel extracted from the ground either by underground mining, open-pit mining or strip mining. ... Nuclear energy is energy released from the nucleus of an atom by the conversion of its mass to energy consistent with Albert Einstiens formula E=mc² in which E = Energy, m = Mass and c = the Constant Speed of Light. ... Renewable energy (sources) or RES capture their energy from existing flows of energy, from on-going natural processes, such as sunshine, wind, flowing water, biological processes, and geothermal heat flows. ... For the Jamaican reggae band, see Third World (band). ... Deforestation is the conversion of forested areas to non-forest; historically this has meant conversion to grassland or its artificial counterpart, grainfields; the Industrial Revolution added urbanization and technological uses. ... An accelerant is any substance or mixture that accelerates the development of fire. ...

Uncontrolled fire

A house on fire

Uncontrolled, fire can be extremely hazardous both to living things and to structures. Exposure to uncontrolled fire can result in severe burns and the symptoms of smoke inhalation. Fire in a building can be started by cooking accidents, electrical faults, fuel leaks, children playing with lighters and/or matches, and accidents involving other fire sources such as candles and cigarettes. Fire can propagate rapidly to other structures, especially where proper building standards are not met. For this reason, most municipalities offer fire fighting services to quickly extinguish fire and deal with other problems. Forest fires, though sometimes necessary for the renewal of forests, can cause severe property damage over a wide area. Download high resolution version (850x567, 75 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Download high resolution version (850x567, 75 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... See also list of house types. ... Evolution of a 2nd degree burn — One hour Evolution of a 2nd degree burn — One day Evolution of a 2nd degree burn — two days This article describes a type of injury. ... Cooking is the act of preparing food for consumption. ... Electricity is a property of certain subatomic particles (e. ... For the workstation, see SGI Fuel. ... A lit candle. ... A cigarette will burn to ash on one end. ... A municipality or general-purpose district (compare with: special-purpose district) is an administrative local area generally composed of a clearly defined territory and commonly referring to a city, town, or village government. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Fire in San Bernardino, California Mountains (image taken from the International Space Station) A wildfire, also known as a forest fire, vegetation fire, grass fire, or bushfire (in Australasia), is an uncontrolled fire in wildland often caused by lightning; other common causes are human carelessness and arson. ...

In Europe and Australasia 6 groups are used: A satellite composite image of Europe Europe is geologically and geographically a peninsula, forming the westernmost part of Eurasia. ... Australasia is the area that includes Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea, and the many smaller islands in the vicinity, most of which are the eastern part of Indonesia. ...

• Class A: Fires that involve flammable solids such as wood, cloth, rubber, paper, and some types of plastics.
• Class B: Fires that involve flammable liquids or liquefiable solids such as petrol/gasoline, oil, paint, some waxes & plastics, but NOT cooking fats or oils.
• Class C: Fires that involve flammable gases, such as natural gas, hydrogen, propane, butane
• Class D: Fires that involve combustible metals, such as sodium, magnesium, and potassium.
• Shock Risk (formerly known as Class E): Fires that involve any of the materials found in Class A and B fires, but with the introduction of an electrical appliances, wiring, or other electrically energized objects in the vicinity of the fire, with a resultant electrical shock risk if a conductive agent is used.
• Class F: Fires involving cooking fats and oils. The high temperature of the oils when on fire far exceeds that of other flammable liquids making normal extinguishing agents ineffective

A forest fire

In the U.S., fires are generally classified into four groups: A, B, C, and D. Download high resolution version (1024x682, 386 KB)forestfire2 From: http://firepix. ... Download high resolution version (1024x682, 386 KB)forestfire2 From: http://firepix. ... Wikiquote has a collection of quotations by or about: United States Wikinews has news related to this article: United States United States government Official website of the United States government - Gateway to governmental sites White House - Official site of the US President Senate. ...

• Class A: Fires that involve wood, cloth, rubber, paper, and some types of plastics.
• Class B: Fires that involve gasoline, oil, paint, natural and propane gases, and flammable liquids, gases, and greases.
• Class C: Fires that involve any of the materials found in Class A and B fires, but with the introduction of an electrical appliances, wiring, or other electrically energized objects in the vicinity of the fire.
• Class D: Fires that involve combustible metals, such as sodium, magnesium, and potassium.

A fifth group, Class K, is sometimes added. It refers to fires involving large amounts of grease or oil. Although, by definition, Class K is a subclass of Class B, the special characteristics of these types of fires are considered important enough to recognize.

A blacksmith's fire, used primarily for forging iron.

Download high resolution version (1600x1124, 255 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Download high resolution version (1600x1124, 255 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Blacksmith Blacksmith at work Blacksmith at work Blacksmiths fire Hot metal work from a blacksmith A blacksmith is an artisan specializing in the hand-wrought manufacture of metal objects, such as wrought iron gates, grills, railings, light fixtures, furniture, sculpture, weapons, decorative and religious items, cooking utensils and tools. ... This article is about smithing. ... General Name, Symbol, Number iron, Fe, 26 Chemical series transition metal Group, Period, Block 8 (VIIIB), 4, d Density, Hardness 7874 kg/m3, 4. ...

Science of fire

A flame is a self-sustaining oxidizing chemical reaction producing energy and ionized gas (plasma). It consists of reacting gases emitting visible and infrared light, the frequency spectrum of which is dependant on the chemical composition of the burning elements and intermediate reaction products. In many cases such as burning organic matter like wood or incomplete combustion of gas, incandescent solid particles (soot) produce the familiar red-orange 'fire' color light. This light has a continuous spectrum. Complete combustion of gas has a dim blue color due to the emission of single wavelength radiations from various electron transitions in the excited molecules formed in the flame. Usually oxygen is involved, but hydrogen burning in chlorine produces a flame as well, producing hydrogen chloride (HCl). This gas dissolved in water is called hydrochloric acid. Other possible combinations producing flames (amongst many more) are fluorine and hydrogen or hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide. The word plasma has a Greek root which means to be formed or molded (the word plastic shares this root). ... Image of a small dog taken in mid-infrared (thermal) light (false color) Infrared (IR) radiation is electromagnetic radiation of a wavelength longer than visible light, but shorter than microwave radiation. ... In mathematics, physics and signal processing, the frequency spectrum is a representation of a signal or other function in terms of frequency (in the frequency domain). It is the projection of the function onto a set of sinusoidal basis functions. ... Combustion or burning is an exothermic reaction between a substance (the fuel) and a gas (the oxidizer) to release heat. ... Soot, also called lampblack or carbon black, is a dark powdery deposit of unburned fuel residues, usually composed mainly of amorphous carbon, that accumulates in chimneys, automobile mufflers and other surfaces exposed to smoke—especially from the combustion of carbon-rich organic fuels in the lack of sufficient oxygen. ... General Name, Symbol, Number Hydrogen, H, 1 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 1 (IA), 1, s Density, Hardness 0. ... General Name, Symbol, Number chlorine, Cl, 17 Chemical series halogens Group, Period, Block 17, 3, p Appearance yellowish green Atomic mass 35. ... Hydrogen chloride, also known under the name HCl, is a highly corrosive and toxic colorless gas that forms white fumes on contact with humidity. ... The chemical substance hydrochloric acid is the aqueous (water-based) solution of hydrogen chloride (HCl) gas. ... General Name, Symbol, Number Fluorine, F, 9 Series Halogens Group, Period, Block 17 (VIIA), 2, p Density, Hardness 1. ... General Name, Symbol, Number Hydrogen, H, 1 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 1 (IA), 1, s Density, Hardness 0. ... Hydrazine is a chemical compound with formula N2H4 used as a rocket fuel. ... Nitrogen tetroxide (or Dinitrogen tetroxide) (N2O4) is a hypergolic propellant often used in combination with a hydrazine-based rocket fuel. ...

The glow of a flame is somewhat complex, due to a mix of black-body radiation emitted from soot, gas, and fuel particles (though the soot particles are too small to behave like perfect blackbodies), and from photon emission by de-excited atoms and molecules in the gases. Much of the radiation is emitted in the visible and infrared bands. The color depends on temperature for the black-body radiation, and chemical makeup for the emission spectra. As the temperature decreases, the peak of the black body radiation curve moves to lower intensities and longer wavelengths. ... The photon can be perceived as a wave or a particle, depending on how it is measured In physics, the photon (from Greek φοτος, meaning light) is a quantum of the electromagnetic field, for instance light. ... Properties For alternative meanings see atom (disambiguation). ... In science, a molecule is the smallest particle of a pure chemical substance that still retains its chemical composition and properties. ... Image of a small dog taken in mid-infrared (thermal) light (false color) Infrared (IR) radiation is electromagnetic radiation of a wavelength longer than visible light, but shorter than microwave radiation. ... A materials emission spectrum is the amount of electromagnetic radiation of each frequency it emits when it is heated (or more generally when it is excited). ...

A car on fire

Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... A small variety of cars, the most popular kind of automobile. ...

See also

• Arson
• Backdraft
• Bonfire
• Bushfire
• Campfire
• Explosion- One of the other forms of combustion/oxidation
• Fire drill
• Fire eater
• Fire hydrant
• Fire point
• Fire-retardant material
• Firefighter
• Firestorm
• Firewall
• Flash point
• Flashover
• Flint and steel fire
• Immolation
• Incineration
• List of historic fires
• Prometheus
• Reckless burning
• Rust - One of the other forms of combustion/oxidation
• Smoke signals
• Smoking
• Trench effect
• Wildfire, also known as a forest fire

Arson is the crime of setting a fire with intent to cause damage. ... This article is about the phenomenon in fires. ... A bonfire or balefire is a large controlled outdoor fire made from bales of straw or wood. ... Backburning in Townsville, Australia to prevent bushfires. ... A campfire. ... A fire drill is a method of practicing for a real fire in a building. ... A fire eater A fire eater is an entertainer, often a street artist or part of a side show. ... Yellow Fire Hydrant A fire hydrant (or colloquially in the US, fire plug) is a source of water provided by most metropolitan communities to enable firefighters to tap into the municipal water supply to assist in extinguishing a fire. ... The fire point of a substance is the temperature at which it will combust and continue to burn of its own accord, that means the evaporation rate is high enough so new vapor-air mixture is produced at least at the same rate as it is burned. ... A fire-retardant material is one that is designed to resist burning and withstand heat. ... Firefighter in full turn out gear with an axe A firefighter is a person who is trained and equipped to put out fires, rescue people, and in some areas provide emergency medical services. ... This is an article about a specific circumstance of combustion. ... This article is about firewalls used in construction. ... The flashpoint of a fuel is the lowest temperature at which it can form an ignitable mix with air. ... A flashover is the simultaneous ignition of all flammable material in an enclosed area. ... A campfire. ... Immolation is destruction by fire, that is, burning something to destroy it. ... Incineration is the process of burning waste streams under controlled industrial conditions. ... This is a list of historic fires. ... This article is about the mythological figure. ... Reckless Burning is a crime that involves illegally setting fire to something not of building proportions. ... Rusted cars The rusting can completely eat away iron A blacksmith removing rust with sand prior to welding Rust is the substance formed when iron compounds corrode in the presence of water and oxygen. ... Smoke signals is an early form of the optical telegraph, developed by the native North Americans and Chinese (as in the towers of the Great Wall. ... For information about smoking tobacco, see tobacco smoking. ... The trench effect is a combination of two well-understood but separate ideas: the Coanda effect from fluid dynamics and the flashover concept from fire dynamics. ... A wildfire, also known as a forest fire, vegetation fire, grass fire, or bushfire (in Australasia), is an uncontrolled fire in wildland often caused by lightning; other common causes are human carelessness and arson. ...

References

• Adams, C. (2002). The Straight Dope: What exactly is fire?. Retrieved Dec. 19, 2004.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has more media related to:

Fire

• What exactly is fire? (from The Straight Dope)
• Early human fire mastery revealed BBC article on archeological discoveries
• Parts of a candle flame
• Flames in microgravity
• Spiral flames in microgravity
• moebuildingcontrol.co.uk - UK Guidance on fire safety codes and fire engineering