Q: Is fire the rapid oxidation of a material in the exothermic chemical process of combustion? ¶
A: Yes, and releasing heat, light, and various reaction products.
Q: Are fires generally conducted in the spring and autumn? ¶
A: Yes.
Q: Is fire first recorded in the Late Silurian fossil record? ¶
A: Yes, and 420 million years ago, by fossils of charcoalified plants.
Q: Was fire a dramatic change in the habits of early humans? ¶
A: Yes.
Q: Is fire called clinker if its melting point is below the flame temperature? ¶
A: Yes, so that it fuses and then solidifies as it cools, and ash if its melting point is above the flame temperature.
Q: Is fire also used to provide mechanical work directly? ¶
A: Yes, and in both external and internal combustion engines.
Q: Is fire hot because the conversion of the weak double bond in molecular oxygen, O2, to the stronger bonds in the combustion products carbon dioxide and water releases energy? ¶
A: Yes, the bond energies of the fuel play only a minor role here.
Q: Was fire the basis of all early thermal weapons? ¶
A: Yes.
Q: Were fires typically controlled burns or "cool fires"? ¶
A: Yes, as opposed to uncontrolled "hot fires", which damage the soil.
Q: Is fire white? ¶
A: Yes, and the hottest color possible for organic material in general, or yellow.
Q: Is fire used by nearly every human being on earth in a controlled setting every day? ¶
A: Yes.
Q: Is fire an important process that affects ecological systems around the globe? ¶
A: Yes.
Q: Is fire intensified by increasing the overall rate of combustion? ¶
A: Yes.