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The word "fire" originated from Old English Fyr 'Fire, a fire', which can be traced back to the Germanic root *fūr-, which itself comes from the Proto-Indo-European *perjos from the root *paewr-' fire '.
Typically, fire comes from a chemical reaction between oxygen in the atmosphere and some sort of fuel (wood or gasoline, for example). Of course, wood and gasoline don't spontaneously catch on fire just because they're surrounded by oxygen.
Fire is the visible effect of the process of combustion – a special type of chemical reaction. It occurs between oxygen in the air and some sort of fuel. The products from the chemical reaction are completely different from the starting material.
Mar 14, 2014 · When carbon bonds with oxygen, it produces carbon dioxide — a colorless gas. When hydrogen bonds with oxygen, it produces water vapor — even as the wood burns. Fires burn only when all that atomic shuffling releases enough energy to keep the oxidation going in a sustained chain reaction.
Oct 7, 2011 · America’s deadliest fire took place April 27, 1865, aboard the steamship Sultana. Among other passengers were 1,500 recently released Union prisoners traveling home up the Mississippi when the boilers exploded.
Jul 18, 2024 · A flame is a mixture of its fuel, light, and the solids and gases that both form the fire and are produced by it. Incomplete combustion produces soot, which is mainly carbon. Fire is mostly a state of matter called plasma. However, parts of a flame consist of solids and gases.
Nov 13, 2024 · Fire, rapid burning of combustible material with the evolution of heat and usually accompanied by flame. It is one of the human race’s essential tools, control of which helped start it on the path toward civilization. The original source of fire undoubtedly was lightning, and such fortuitously.