what happens when fuel is burned?
372374
You didn't specify the fuel but in general burning is a chemical reaction with oxygen or an oxidation process.  This process releases energy in some form.  Heat is one of those forms, mechanical motion, and light are others.\n\nThere is no requirement for carbon in the process of burning fuel as is stated by some other answerer's.  Let's, for example, consider burning hydrogen.  The hydrogen combines with the oxygen (oxidizes) which releases energy in the form of heat.  The Hindenburg disaster had very little carbon in its primary burn.\n\nSince this combining of 2 or more elements seems to be a requirement for burning (at least one of them being oxygen) it is possible to un-combine them by adding energy to revert to the initial elements.  Again for simplicity, let's use hydrogen and oxygen [so abundant on this planet].  When the hydrogen and oxygen are burned in proper balanced proportions (two atoms of hydrogen to one oxygen in stoichiometric proportions) there is only water and energy.  The energy we use to move things, light things, heat things, etc.  The water in this case is waste.  You can perform electrolysis on the water and separate the O2 and H2. You can then burn them again releasing the energy that you put back into the separation through electrolysis.  This is just un-burning the hydrogen and oxygen by adding energy.\n\nTypically one thinks of burning as a non-reversable process but only when you're talking about proteins...like un-frying an egg.  \n\nA string of hydrocarbons burned with "air" is also more complicated because we're using a large percentage of nitrogen along with our oxygen.  The ratio is roughly 80/20 Nitrogen to Oxygen. To maintain the balance of equations (that stoichiometric word) we'd be working with nitrogen oxides (burned nitrogen) like nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide and many carbon by-products like carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide.\n\nAll in all it's a big mess.\n\nI hope that fully answered your question.
928602
burning is atmospheric OXIDATION
358981
Can you give more info?  There seems to be much info on making fuels by this method, but nothing on quenching.
236633
It doesn't burn like wood. That is, its material does\nnot combine with oxygen as in a conventional burn. Rather,\nthe nuclei of hydrogen and helium atoms fuse under incredibly high heat forming heavier elements. This is the\nkind of nuclear reaction we create in the ignition of a hydrogen bomb. In this case, the high heat is obtained from\na uranium or plutonium atomic bomb which a part of the device.  The fusion results in even more heat, light and radioactive energy.
790687
The burning of the fuel (chemical) caused the water to turn to steam (heat) which causes the piston to move the rod (mechanical) which moves the engine,\n\nIf you are looking for more in-depth,
498315
Combustion of organic materials results in carbon rich solution. This means if you burn wood, petroleum, or cute little animals you get carbon, if you burn plastic you get a hunk of melted plastic.
287820
Agree...Can you tell me what happens to peoples energy when they die?
1176147
In a fire, Oxygen is not the fuel, it is the oxidizer.  Depending upon what is burning, the fuel could be any number of things.\nOxygen does not burn, but is required for combustion.\n\nIn order for something to burn, 3 things are necessary,\n-Fuel\n-An oxidizer (Oxygen)\n-[activation] Energy\n\nUnless these 3 things are present, the object in question will not burn.\nIf we assume fuel and Oxidizer are plentiful, then the only thing left which will keep something from burning is that extra bit of energy needed to set off the reaction.  After one gets a fire going, usually, this energy is provided by the excess heat the fire generates, but it needs to be supplied initially by some form (for example, lighting a match to start light a candle).\nIf one were to take away the fire's ability to provide its own activation energy, it would go out unless supplemented by some outside source.\n\nWhen a gust of wind blow out a fire, it is blowing away the energy the fire needs to burn, it is cooling it off too much for it to continue burning.
737797
It can set the gasoline on fire. Eventually there could be an explosion. I've seen films of people being lit on fire while pumping gas. \nHere's a link that verifies fire can happen.\n.
868915
Burning is something that happens to solids before they become a liquid and then a gas. The melting, boiling and evaporation points for water prevent it from being burned in any of it's states.
752960
Burning is a chemical change. Oxygen reacts with the material that you burn and converts it into the corresponding oxide. You start with one chemical and end up with another in the burning process. In the case of boiling, a liquid is converted into gaseous (vapour) state. Here the material is same; only its physical form is different before and after boiling. Hence it is a physical change.
961356
While the flame is on, they make sure that the combustion has enough air to mix with the fuel for an efficient flame. \n\nAnd when there is no flame they do a purge of the burner area to make sure there are no combustible fumes that could cause a fire if not cleared out. Code requires that the combustion chamber be prepurged for a specific duration before even the pilot can be lit.
931030
That should only happen with copper or copper salts.\nIt's the oxidation of the copper in the flame.\nAll elements burn differently, this is the basis of how a spectrometer works.
5827
If airplane fuel is kept in a plastic or metal container long enough its temperature will settle at room temperature and the container will feel just as cool as an empty container.  However all the small light molecules of fuel will vibrate and hit and bounce off each other at a rate and strength characteristic of room temperature.  This is known as heat energy.  More heat yields more vibration and less heat, less vibration.\n\nHowever if you spill some fuel on your hands, the molecules of fuel will now hit and bounce off of the much larger and possibly warmer molecules of your skin.  That is like a baseball bat (your molecules)hitting a baseball (fuel molecules) out of the park where the bat and ball travel at the same speed while in contact but the ball flies off across the field - which is equivalent to evaporation.  The ball carries away with it energy that it did not possess until hit; and therefore leaves less energy behind. The reduction of heat energy due to evaporation cools your hand and the remaining fuel which both feel cooler.
877176
No, you can't burn because there is no air. Burning is an oxidation reaction.\n\nHowever, liquid water in a vacuum will immediately begin to boil, which will cool it off. If there is enough water it will soon be boiling and freezing at the same time. I have seen this myself, at the Exploratorium -- a science museum in San Francisco.
837108
The sun "burns" on the concept of nuclear fussion, where hydrogen is converted to helium. Once all hydrogen has been converted it then produces lithium and all other elements in the periodic table until iron.\n\nThis process creates energy and is what you are referring to as "burning".\n\nNuclear fussion is a nuclear reaction. Processes like creating a fire are chemical reactions involing oxygen
530960
Amount of heat generated by a given mass of fuel when it is completely burned. It is measured in joules per kilogram. Calorific values are measured experimentally with a bomb calorimeter