1.    2022

     

    reblogged: scinerds

    sciencesoup: A Diamond in the Flame The candle was invented over 2,000 years ago in China, but for a long time no one quite understood what secrets the flames held—scientists knew that hydrocarbon molecules exist at the base of the flame, and are converted into carbon dioxide by the time they reach the top, but they didn’t understand the exact process. ‘You have the glittering beauty of gold and silver, and the still higher lustre of jewels, like the ruby and diamond,’ Michael Faraday wrote in 1860, addressing light, ‘but none of these rival the brilliancy and beauty of flame. What diamond can shine like flame?’ Well, according to research at the University of St Andrews, a flame actually shines like a diamond. Professor of Chemistry Wuzong Zhou recently discovered that a burning candle flame creates diamond nanoparticles at a rate of 1.5 million per second. Dr Zhou used a sampling technique he invented himself to remove particles from the centre of the flame, and upon analysis, he found the flame contained all four known forms of carbons. This was strange, since each of them are usually created under different conditions, but he realised this meant something amazing: the hydrocarbon molecules were being turned into tiny diamonds. The diamonds burn up in the process and are released as carbon dioxide, and there are currently no ways to extract them, but Zhou’s research could prove useful for future research into green, economic diamond production. It’s a tantalising discovery—light a candle, and you can watch millions and millions of tiny, glittering diamonds wink in and out of existence.

    sciencesoup:

    A Diamond in the Flame

    The candle was invented over 2,000 years ago in China, but for a long time no one quite understood what secrets the flames held—scientists knew that hydrocarbon molecules exist at the base of the flame, and are converted into carbon dioxide by the time they reach the top, but they didn’t understand the exact process. ‘You have the glittering beauty of gold and silver, and the still higher lustre of jewels, like the ruby and diamond,’ Michael Faraday wrote in 1860, addressing light, ‘but none of these rival the brilliancy and beauty of flame. What diamond can shine like flame?’ Well, according to research at the University of St Andrews, a flame actually shines like a diamond. Professor of Chemistry Wuzong Zhou recently discovered that a burning candle flame creates diamond nanoparticles at a rate of 1.5 million per second. Dr Zhou used a sampling technique he invented himself to remove particles from the centre of the flame, and upon analysis, he found the flame contained all four known forms of carbons. This was strange, since each of them are usually created under different conditions, but he realised this meant something amazing: the hydrocarbon molecules were being turned into tiny diamonds. The diamonds burn up in the process and are released as carbon dioxide, and there are currently no ways to extract them, but Zhou’s research could prove useful for future research into green, economic diamond production. It’s a tantalising discovery—light a candle, and you can watch millions and millions of tiny, glittering diamonds wink in and out of existence.

     
    2. Jan 29th, 2013     sciencefireflamechemistryphysicsnanoparticlediamond
    Comments

  2.    226

     

    reblogged: jtotheizzoe

    jtotheizzoe:

    io9updates:

    Feel Like Watching a Leaf Cause an Explosion?

    By Esther Inglis-Arkell

    Manganese heptoxide is a compound with seven oxygen molecules.  It’s always ready to lend a few out, which is why it’s called an oxidizer.  Oxidization is another word for burning.  It oxidizes so spontaneously that nearly any contact with an organic molecule will set it off.  You can see it explode with a leaf and paper, as well as drops of butane.

    It’s Friday, and every Friday deserves a little explosion or two … Fireday!

    I like that this video is called “Lighting Stuff On Fire With Mn2O7”.

    All fire is basically oxidation, which is a fancy chemistry word that sort of complicates the process. Fire wants oxygen, but the question in various forms of combustion is what is providing the oxygen? In a campfire, it’s coming from the air. When we strike a match, as we saw in this super-awesome video a couple months ago, the oxygen comes from potassium chlorate.

    In this video, the oxygen comes from a very angry and unstable molecule, and the results are amazing.

    What about when someone strikes a lighter “flint” or a firesteel? Firesteels are made of a combination of cerium (Ce) and iron (Fe), which (in their pure forms) like to burn when exposed to oxygen. Iron is usually not thought of as explosive because it has a pretty high combustion temperature. The cerium helps get that reaction going, since it ignites at a lower temperature.

    So check out the whoa-inducing slow-motion GIF of sparking firesteel below, when the handheld scraper exposes tiny flecks of the “ferrocerium”. It’s sparks galore!!

     
    3. Nov 2nd, 2012     sciencechemistrycombustionfiremanganese heptoxideoxidationphysicsexplosion
    Comments

  3.    757

     

    reblogged: likeaphysicist

    the-star-stuff:

    Pictures: Fire “Tornado” Spotted

    Also known as fire whirls, fire devils, or even firenados, these whirlwinds of flame are not really rare, just rarely documented, Jason Forthofer, a mechanical engineer at the U.S. Forest Services’s Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory in Montana, said in 2010.

     
    4. Oct 1st, 2012     physicsmeteorologytornadofirefire tornado
    Comments

  4.    196

     

    reblogged: gno-sis

    denverpost:

    PHOTOS: Waldo Canyon fire aerial photos by Denver Post staff

    Aerial photos, Thursday June 28, 2012, of the Waldo Canyon fire in Colorado Springs shows the destructive path of the fire in Mountain Shadows Subdivision area.

     
    5. Jul 2nd, 2012     firewildfirephotography
    Comments