How does oxygen burn?

[WinkOsmosis]

How are those canisters of liquified oxygen flammable? How does oxygen burn?

 

[Wallydraigle]

It doesn't, high concetrations of oxygen just makes everything else easier to burn.

 

[911paramedic]

It's not, but it will accelerate the burning process a great deal.

 

[Rastus]

Burning is a chemical reaction between fuel and oxygen, if there is enough heat to get it going. It give off heat and light.

 

[cressida]

what if you remove all the oxygen?

 

[RU482]

Originally posted by: Synergy
what if you remove all the oxygen?

Isn't that what a halon extinguisher does?

 

[JohnCU]

So, if you opened up the canister of liquified oxygen and put a match to it, nothing would happen?

 

[BDawg]

Originally posted by: JohnCU
So, if you opened up the canister of liquified oxygen and put a match to it, nothing would happen?

If you were in an area with no flamable objects. As with anything involving fire, YMMV.

Edit: The match would burst into even stonger flames though.

 

[Mark R]

So, if you opened up the canister of liquified oxygen and put a match to it, nothing would happen?

No. The match would explode violently, as it burns at an enormously increased rate in the presence of the oxygen.

I've seen this done with a cigarette which is normally a fairly slow burning item. It produced an extremely bright flare for about half a second. There was just a little bit of ash left - even the filter burned.

 

[NogginBoink]

Originally posted by: Mark R

So, if you opened up the canister of liquified oxygen and put a match to it, nothing would happen?

No. The match would explode violently, as it burns at an enormously increased rate in the presence of the oxygen.

I've seen this done with a cigarette which is normally a fairly slow burning item. It produced an extremely bright flare for about half a second. There was just a little bit of ash left - even the filter burned.

Damn... it looks like the liquid-oxygen-barbeque page has been removed. I can't find it on the 'net.

Ah yes! Thank goodness for archive.org!

 

[tcsenter]

So, if you opened up the canister of liquified oxygen and put a match to it, nothing would happen?

Assuming you mean put a tiny opening in a canister liquified oxygen, it would escape at such a velocity that it would blow the match out.

Just about anything can serve as a fuel, including metal. Its just that not everything will readily serve as a fuel, depending on the concentration of oxygen available. Things which only 'smolder' at atmospheric oxygen concentrations may burn intensely at much higher oxygen concentrations. Things which burn slowly at normal oxygen levels may damn near explode (burn violently) at much higher oxygen concentrations.

Everything is relative to 'normal' atmospheric oxygen concentrations.

 

[TheBoyBlunder]

So oxygen is an accelerant. Gotcha.

 

[tcsenter]

So oxygen is an accelerant. Gotcha.

Well, in effect, perhaps, but the term "accelerant" is already reserved for other types of fuel used to make something ignite or burn more intensely or faster.

Oxygen is an oxidizer.

 

[Woodchuck2000]

Originally posted by: TheBoyBlunder
So oxygen is an accelerant. Gotcha.

It's not an accelerant as such - without it things wouldn't burn at all. The rate of reaction (burning) is simply dependant, in part, on the concentration of oxygen.

 

[NogginBoink]

Originally posted by: TheBoyBlunder
So oxygen is an accelerant. Gotcha.

No.

Combustion (burning) is the reaction of something with oxygen.

More oxygen = faster reaction.

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: WinkOsmosis
How are those canisters of liquified oxygen flammable? How does oxygen burn?

oxygen doesn't burn, but in pure oxygen anything else will. you know what happened to apollo 1? that was basically the iron and aluminum making up the spaceship rusting in 2 minutes.

 

[SunnyD]

Oxygen is (duh) an oxidizer.

 

[TheBoyBlunder]

Oh, so oxygen just makes things easier to burn. Right? *crosses fingers*

 

[dighn]

Originally posted by: TheBoyBlunder
Oh, so oxygen just makes things easier to burn. Right? *crosses fingers*

it's required for burning in the ordinary sense

higher concentration of oxygen makes things eaiser to burn