Fire has been an integral part of human civilization from the very beginning of our history. On the one hand, it gives us warmth and light. On the other hand, fires can rage uncontrollably and destroy everything in their path.
But for all its destructive power, fire can surprise us with its many wonders and mysteries. Here are the top 10 amazing fire and fire facts that will fuel the flames of your mind.
10. Flamethrowers were invented in antiquity
During the reign of the Byzantine emperor Constantine IV (circa 668–685 AD), the inventor Kallinikos of the Syrian city of Heliopolis developed what eventually became known as "Greek fire."
It was originally used in naval combat to burn enemy ships from a distance of 25-30 meters. At the same time, the mixture continued to burn even on the surface of the water.
The weapon was a copper tube through which a flammable mixture was spewed out. To push it out, bellows were used (like in a forge) or compressed air.
Then it began to be used on land in the form of portable hand-held devices that could be used both during the siege of the fortress and for its defense.
But "Greek fire" is not the only example of the use of flammable mixtures in warfare.
Already in the 1st century BC. e. fire mixtures were used in the Chinese army. Greek warriors at the Battle of Delia in 424 BC e. an incendiary mixture consisting of oil, crude oil and sulfur was released from a hollow log. Other substances may have been included. The Greek fire prototype was also used in 190 BC. e., during the defense of the island of Rhodes.
As you can see, modern flamethrowers had many "relatives", albeit less convenient from the point of view of use.
9. Forest fires create weather
Uncontrolled forest fires can stretch over thousands and even millions of hectares. So, by the end of July 2019, the total area of forest fires in Siberia amounted to 1.13 million hectares in Yakutia and 1.56 million hectares in other regions.
When fires reach such colossal proportions, they begin to affect the atmosphere around them.
When the air heated by the fire rises high enough, it cools. Water droplets condense inside it, creating clouds and possibly even thunderstorms. The cloud created by a wildfire is called a pyro-cumulus cloud, and the "firestorm cloud" thus formed is called a pyro-cumulonimbus cloud.
Storms caused by fires can be beneficial in extinguishing fires, but they can also hinder the same efforts, causing strong winds that fan the fires even more. Sometimes, these strong winds can even serve as the basis for a tornado, as happened in 1978 in a fire in California.
8. The deadliest fire went relatively unnoticed
The Great Chicago Fire, which raged from October 8-10, 1871, attracted increased media attention both in the United States and elsewhere, and spurred significant economic growth in Chicago during the recovery. The whole country helped the city with food, money and basic necessities.
Ironically, the Great Fire of Chicago was small compared to its older brother. On the same day, October 8, a steppe fire began in drought-stricken farmlands in Wisconsin, reaching nearly 1.2 million acres. It became known as the Peshtigo Fire, after the city that was completely destroyed by fire. The Peshtigo fire is estimated to have killed between 1,200 and 1,500 people, at least four times the death toll from the Chicago fire.
7. Fire as art
How would you feel about the idea of using fire instead of paint when creating a painting? But the Canadian artist Stephen Spazuk succeeded. Okay, we were cheating a little, he uses not the flame itself, but the soot from it to apply soot to the white canvas.
“The flame always reacts to air displacement, so I cannot control it. However, I can direct the flame of my lighter to create more or less the shape I want to create. Sometimes I just let the flame do the work and create these magical forms, ”says Stephen.
Agree, these pictures look impressive.
6. Fire is the center of Zoroastrian worship
There are about 100,000-200,000 people in the world who practice Zoroastrianism (one of the oldest religions in the world). For them, fire (as well as the light of the sun) as a source of light is sacred, since light is a visible image of the presence of a deity in our world.
In Zoroastrianism, five types of fire are present throughout all of creation. They can be found in inanimate matter, living bodies, plants, clouds and flames, and are remnants of the original fire that the Zoroastrians believe created the universe.
During prayer, Zoroastrians bow before the source of light. This could be the sun, a bonfire, an oil lantern, or even one of the eternal lights kept in places of worship (called fire temples).
5. The color of the flame is not always orange
The most common controlled fires, such as bonfires, burn at temperatures between 590 and 1200 degrees Celsius. At this temperature, some of the carbon from the combustible fuel does not burn. Carbon particles mix with the fire and are illuminated by its light, which gives the fire a yellow or orange glow.
But everything changes when the temperature of the fire increases. At temperatures of 1260-1650 degrees Celsius, the flame absorbs all the carbon. Without surviving carbon particles that could change color, the fire burns with a bright blue light.
However, carbon is not the only chemical or compound that can start a fire. If a fuel source with a small amount of copper is burned, its particles enter the fire and give it a green light in the same way that carbon particles give orange.
Lithium chloride creates a pink flame, strontium chloride red, and potassium chloride purple.
4. How ice can cause fire
Fire and ice are usually considered opposites - and for good reason. In terms of temperature, few things can exist as far apart as fire and ice, but adventurous people have developed ways to use one to create the other.
The method requires the use of a knife to cut a relatively round piece of ice. Then this circle is additionally polished using the warmth of human hands. In the end, you get an icy semblance of a magnifying glass. It can be used to focus sunlight into a narrow beam that heats dry tinder and creates a fire.However, all these manipulations will take a lot of time and effort.
3. Eucalyptus tree is "friendly" with fire
An average of 67,000 forest fires rage the world each year, and they destroy approximately seven million acres of land. Entire ecosystems can be destroyed by fire, including dense forests.
However, there is one tree that actively helps the fire. And his name is a eucalyptus tree, which grows mainly in New Zealand, Australia and Tasmania.
Its fallen leaves form a perfect, flammable blanket, and its bark flakes off in long strips that extend to the ground. This allows the fire to rise to the branches.
Known for its aromatic scent, eucalyptus tree oil is also highly flammable, which is why eucalyptus trees are nicknamed "gasoline trees." And eucalyptus seeds grow rapidly in ash-rich soil after a fire.
2. Fire in space with microgravity burns in the form of a sphere
On Earth with constant gravity, a candle flame transforms into a teardrop shape. The lighter, hotter air rises and pulls the colder air behind it, causing the flame to form its signature shape.
However, under microgravity conditions on the International Space Station, air heated by a candle flame does not rise, but remains stationary. Instead of forming a teardrop shape, the flame turns into a sphere and burns in a bright blue.
The unique properties of microgravity also allow fires to burn at much lower temperatures and much longer than on Earth.
1. Fire is used as medicine
Here's another interesting fact about fire: it's used successfully in modern Chinese medicine.
A procedure called "fire therapy" is used to treat many chronic diseases. It is based on the Chinese philosophy that good health is the result of a balance between the “hot” and “cold” elements present in the human body.
Fire therapy involves the use of an herbal paste, an alcohol-soaked towel, and a lighter to light controlled fires at key points in the human body.
There is currently no empirical evidence to support that "fire therapy" is actually beneficial to health. Is that adrenaline after her more than enough.