Fire
From the Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can change
Fire is a chemical reaction that gives off light and heat. It is one of the most familiar examples of the chemical process of oxidation.
Fire is very hot. It should never be touched, for it may burn anything that gets too close. If touched with human skin, the skin may blister which can take some time to heal. But fire can be very useful if it is treated carefully. It has always been very important for people to be able to make fire, because people need its heat on cold days, or its light in darkness, as well as for cooking.
If fire is not treated carefully, it can be very dangerous. A fire that got out of control once destroyed 17,400 km² in the United States. Forests can burn down if fires are not controlled. Every year, large areas of forests are destroyed because of fire, particularly in Europe. This usually happens in summer. Firefighters are people with special training to stop fires, or to keep a fire under control.
Fire needs oxygen and fuel to burn. It is the one common fuel to all fires. The other fuels can be wood, tinder, coal, or any other substance that will rapidly oxidize with oxygen. A fire requires two fuels: oxygen and the substance to undergo oxidation.
A fire can be started by ignition, or if the temperature reaches the flash point of the material. A fire can be stopped by starving it of its fuels. The most common technique is to use water to starve it of oxygen.
Fires are usually combustion reactions that take carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. The products are very commonly water, and carbon dioxide, although there are other examples that avoid this generalization, such as burning magnesium in air, which makes magnesium oxide. Fires can occur in many ways and there are many types of fire which, if not treated correctly, can cause total devastation, some types of fire are- metal fires, wood fires, gas fires, etc.
