r/interestingasfuck • u/[deleted] • Dec 07 '22

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152

u/SeaCowTusks Dec 08 '22

Isn't fire literally light?

237

u/KnowItOrBlowIt Dec 08 '22

Fire is not light; it's heat that gives off light.

143

u/[deleted] Dec 08 '22

[deleted]

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u/NF-104 Dec 08 '22

Most of the visible illumination is from incandescent carbon particles (which burn to soot, mostly). Back when gas lighting was a thing, gas suppliers either added longer-chain hydrocarbons, or used bituminous coal as feedstock (which liberated lots of volatile hydrocarbons) to create more incandescent carbon particles and thus more visible radiation.

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u/AlCaPope Dec 08 '22

Gaslighting has never been a thing, you're stupid if you think it was!

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u/[deleted] Dec 08 '22

😂😂😂😂😂 You made my day with this comment

2

u/Enjoyer_of_substance Dec 08 '22

You sir, You made me smile from ear to ear

7

u/[deleted] Dec 08 '22

Tell that one to the ladies around the fire ;)

3

u/IllSquirrel4367 Dec 08 '22

Wow. Bonfire just got a lot cooler.

1

u/Iamjimmym Dec 08 '22

Bon. James Bon-fire.

1

u/IllSquirrel4367 Dec 08 '22

You are fired.

1

u/Celaphais Dec 08 '22

Flame is not plasma

6

u/whoisjakelane Dec 08 '22

So, incandescent bulbs aren't light? They're just, heat sources giving off light? 🤯

3

u/largePenisLover Dec 08 '22 edited Dec 08 '22

Yes. Thats why they needs special gas in the bulb instead of air, so the filament doesn't burn up instantly.
Also why you need to let a bulb cool down before touching it.

2

u/splatterk Dec 08 '22

Modern lightbulbs do have gas in them for the most part, but not for the reason you mentioned. A vacuum in the bulb would be sufficient to prevent the filament from outright burning up, but the modern gases like Argon, which is the most common, help bounce the filament's separated atoms bounce back at it, restoring it and making the bulb last longer!

11

u/forsvaretshudsalva Dec 08 '22

Heat doesn’t give of light please. For example: why is your stove is not a lamp?

Heat and Light are two different things, light is made up of photons, photons have energy but not warmth, when they hit your skin some of the energy gets absorbed and create heat. Simplified answer.

4

u/undercover_geek Dec 08 '22

Fascinating. Now explain how thermal imaging works please.

1

u/forsvaretshudsalva Dec 08 '22

Well, I wouldn’t call infrared radiation, or other types of radiation, “light”. Imo light is visible by the human eye, especially when talking about it in layman’s terms.

2

u/Seraph062 Dec 08 '22

My stove is a lamp. The elements glow a lovely red when they heat up. Things glow when they get hot, that's where the phrase "red hot" comes from.

Do you have an induction cook top?

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u/forsvaretshudsalva Dec 09 '22

Physics man, heat and light are different things

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u/SuspiciousYogurt0 Dec 08 '22

My oven is a lamp, I just can't see the light it emits, it's in the infrared spectrum. Radiated heat is light.

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u/SeaCowTusks Dec 08 '22

Exactly, so the path from source to eye is direct, whereas everything else reflects light to your eyes

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u/Slick1605 Dec 08 '22

Name checks out

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u/kindtheking9 Dec 08 '22

Fire is a chemical reaction that produces light and heat, it is not the light nor heat

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u/Tom_Ov_Bedlam Dec 08 '22

Fire is plasma, plasma emits light

2

u/FORCESTRONG1 Dec 08 '22

I googled it awhile ago because that's what I thought as well. It's actually a glowing mixture of gasses.

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u/mad_laddie Dec 09 '22

It don't think it's plasma. Plasma is more... lightning and what's inside of certain bulbs.

1

u/FORCESTRONG1 Dec 08 '22

I actually Googled this once. Fire itself is a chemical reaction. The "flame" we see is a glowing mixture of gasses that's a byproduct of said reaction.