The temperature of the fire makes us see the usual things in a new light - a flashed white match, a blue glow from the burner of a gas stove in the kitchen, orange-red tongues above a flaming tree. A person does not pay attention to fire until he burns his fingertips. Or do not burn potatoes in a pan. Or he won’t burn the sole of the sneakers drying over the fire.
When the first pain, fright and disappointment pass away, the time for philosophical reflection begins. About nature, colors, fire temperature.
Burns like a match
Briefly about the structure of the match. It consists of a stick and a head. The sticks are made of wood, cardboard and a cotton tourniquet soaked in paraffin. The tree is chosen from soft species - poplar, pine, aspen. Raw materials for sticks are called match sticks. To avoid straw smoldering, sticks are impregnated with phosphoric acid. Russian plants make straw from aspen.
The head of a match is simple in form, but complex in chemical composition. The dark brown head of the match contains seven components: oxidizing agents - Bertolet's salt and potassium dichromate; glass dust, lead red lead, sulfur, bone glue, zinc white.
The head of a match during friction ignites, heating up to one and a half thousand degrees. Ignition threshold, in degrees Celsius:
- poplar - 468;
- aspen - 612;
- pine - 624.
The fire temperature of a match is equal to the ignition temperature of wood. Therefore, the white flash of the sulfuric head is replaced by a yellow-orange matchstick tongue.
If you look closely at a burning match, you will see three zones of flame. The bottom is cold blue. The average one and a half times warmer. Upper - hot zone.
Fiery artist
At the word “bonfire” no less vivid nostalgic memories flash: the smoke of a bonfire, creating a confidential atmosphere; red and yellow lights flying to the ultramarine sky; reeds overflow from blue to ruby red; crimson cooling coals in which "pioneer" potatoes are baked.
The changing color of a blazing tree reports fluctuations in the temperature of the fire in the fire. Wood decay (darkening) starts at 150 °. Ignition (smoke) occurs in the range of 250-300 °. With the same supply of oxygen, tree species burn at mismatching temperatures. Accordingly, the degree of the fire will also be different. Birch burns at 800 degrees, alder - at 522 °, and ash and beech - at 1040 °.
But the color of the fire is also determined by the chemical composition of the burning substance. Sodium salts add yellow and orange to the
fire . The chemical composition of cellulose contains both sodium salts and potassium salts, which impart a red tint to the burning coals of wood. Romantic
blue lights in a bonfire arise due to a lack of oxygen, when instead of CO
2 carbon monoxide forms.
Science enthusiasts measure the temperature of a fire in a bonfire with an instrument called a pyrometer. Three types of pyrometers are manufactured: optical, radiation, spectral. These are non-contact devices that allow you to evaluate the power of thermal radiation.
We study fire in our own kitchen
Kitchen gas stoves operate on two types of fuel:
- The main natural gas is methane.
- Propane – butane liquefied mixture of cylinders and gas tanks.
The chemical composition of the fuel determines the temperature of the gas stove. Burning methane forms a fire with a capacity of 900 degrees at the top point.
Burning a liquefied mixture gives heat up to 1950 °.
An attentive observer will note the uneven coloring of the tongues of the gas stove burner. Inside the fire torch there is a division into three zones:
- Dark area located near the burner: there is no combustion due to a lack of oxygen, and the zone temperature is 350 °.
- A bright area lying in the center of the torch: the burning gas is heated to 700 °, but the fuel does not burn to the end due to a lack of oxidizer.
- Translucent upper section: reaches a temperature of 900 °, and gas combustion is complete.
Figures of temperature zones of the fire plume are given for methane.
Fire Safety Rules
Kindle matches, a fireplace, a gas stove, take care of the ventilation of the room. Provide oxygen to the fuel.
Do not attempt to repair gas equipment yourself. Gas does not tolerate amateurs.
Mistresses note that the burners glow blue, but sometimes the fire turns orange. This is not a global change in temperature. A color change is associated with a change in fuel composition. Pure methane burns without color and odorless. For safety reasons, sulfur is added to household gas, which, when burned, colors the gas blue and gives the product a characteristic smell.
The appearance of orange and yellow shades in the fire of a burner indicates the need for preventive manipulations with the stove. The craftsmen will clean the equipment, remove dust and soot, the burning of which changes the usual color of the fire.
Sometimes the fire in the burner turns red. This is a signal of the dangerous content of carbon monoxide in the products of combustion. The oxygen supply to the fuel is so small that the stove even goes out. Carbon monoxide is tasteless and odorless, and a person near the source of the release of a harmful substance will notice too late that he has been poisoned. Therefore, the red color of gas requires an immediate call of the masters for the prevention and adjustment of equipment.