What makes some things more flammable than others?

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What makes some things more flammable than others?

In: Chemistry

3 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Three main factors are chemistry, surface area, and oxidant levels.

A burning reaction in chemistry is typically referred to as a combustion reaction (unsurprisingly) with some chemical bonds have more energy (read more likely) to sustain the reaction after breaking.

Increased surface area, like dust, increase the amount of material exposed to heat and as a result is easier to burn

All combustions require an oxidant (like oxygen) which is essentially an electron hungry chemical

Anonymous 0 Comments

Something is flammable if it reacts easily with oxygen in the air. Things that are less flammable _have already_ reacted with oxygen or have oxygen inside them. Examples: glass, brick, water.

Flammable stuff combines with oxygen to make new things, often releasing heat in the process.

Anonymous 0 Comments

An unstable bond in the molecules holding the material together. I’d recommend the YouTube video “what is fire”