Fun Fact Friday!

Fuego!

Above is the fire Tetrahedron. It used to be the fire triangle but recently they added the chain/chemical reaction portion.

For fire to live and thrive it needs all of these parts to be complete. In contrast, to kill fire all you have to do is remove a component. There are exceptions, as always, but they are rare.

Knowing how these components works, however, allows us to "control" and manipulate fire to do things we want it to do. Control is in quotes because the reality is that we are not yet able to truly control fire. We can produce it, feed it, and kill it on cue but it always has a mind of its own and at any point, even well safetied situations, the fire can break free and become disastrous.

The interesting and fun part is the flame. The flame is a result of the gasses and solids reacting, being heated, getting excited, and releasing energy in the form of light as they cool. The color of the flame lets you know what types of gasses have been produced or used and how hot the fire is.

White is the hottest color for fire in organic material. You can most often find that color blazing at the base of forest fires. The color cools as it progresses to yellow, then to orange, then red. Blue flames are produced with complete combustion of a gas which only emits one wavelength of light instead of the mix from multiple reactants or incomplete combustion.

This is the main reason it is very difficult, or impossible, to breathe during a fire gag. The hot gasses that are swirling around your body will completely burn your insides if inhaled. This burning is intense, painful, and will often lead to infection, long term injury or death.

It is yet another reason the fire gag in stunts is taken so extremely seriously. Taking for granted and paying attention to the safety of only the outside area can be a fatal misjudgement.

Greg