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-> Parenting our children
-> School age children
amother
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Mon, Oct 03 2011, 5:43 pm
my daughter has a homework question and I don't know the answer
what causes oil to burn?
thanks
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zaq
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Mon, Oct 03 2011, 9:18 pm
What grade is she?
Fire occurs when a fuel, usually but not exclusively something containing carbon (like oil) is heated to a certain temperature (called its "ignition temperature")in the presence of oxygen. With the help of a source of ignition such as a burning match, spark, lightning, electricity or very hot surface, some of the fuel combines with the oxygen, or oxidizes, to produce more heat, which then allows more of the material to combine with more oxygen to produce still more heat and start a very rapid chain reaction that gives off heat, light, smoke and gases in what we call a "fire".
If the fuel reaches a higher temperature, called its "autoignition temperature", the process can begin all by itself without the help of a source of ignition. This is called "spontaneous combustion".
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zaq
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Mon, Oct 03 2011, 9:23 pm
BTW you could have gotten a simple answer by googling on "how does a fire start?" which would have gotten you to www.energyquest.ca.gov/how_it_works/fire.htm and this:
Fire is a chemical process. Three things are needed for this process: oxygen, heat and fuel. Without one of these elements a fire cannot start or continue.
In a chemical process, the molecules rearrange themselves. Energy is either released or absorbed. The process in a fire is called oxidation, where oxygen atoms combine with hydrogen and carbon to form water and carbon dioxide. Oxidation is the same chemical process that turns iron into rust. But with iron, the reaction is VERY slow. So, the heat energy that is released is VERY low.
With certain things, like paper or wood, the oxidation rate of the molecules can be very fast. If the heat cannot be released faster than it is created, then combustion happens.
Besides heat, there must also be flames or smoldering present during the chemical process for it to be called fire. Exhaust gases also are produced. If the burning process is very clean, you don't see the exhaust gases. If some of the particles of the fuel are not completely burned, you see smoke. Smoke is made up of evaporated water, carbon dioxide and unburnt particles of the fuel.
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