h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

That's just how I feel this morning!
Very ssssssllllllooooowwwwwwww...........

Well I feel very fffffaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaattttttt...

You been eating lots of , and then?

Afternoon Troops!

It certainly is.

Morning, actually.

And a *very* cold one it is, too - at 7:10 am we have 2F (-17C) with a wind chill factor of -12F (-24C).


*tosses some more wood on the fire*

It's a bit gloomy here - but that's about it. not really windy rainy or sunny.

Lady S. regarding your post!
Can the flammable material be too to ignite/burn?
Can a flame freeze?
I know it may seem but is it possible?

St. Scuttle the reprieved?

Don't see why not - you can have a cold burn after all!

I don't think it's possible for a flame to freeze or for the wood to be too cold to burn... Perhaps flammable liquids such as propane or kerosene could freeze and you'd have to thaw them out in order to burn them, but I'd think it would have to be a lot colder than it is here, because lots of people heat their homes and cook with propane stored in tanks outdoors in all kinds of weather. I do know that diesel fuel needs to be protected from extreme cold because it can freeze. I don't know if it's still flammable when it's frozen, but it becomes a gel when it freezes, and since it's usually used as automotive fuel, being in a gelatinous state makes it impossible to get through the fuel lines to the engine.

I think it's more a matter of moisture content in the flammable material. Wood needs to be dried out (cured) before it will burn well. It will still burn even when it's freshly cut from a live tree, but it won't burn as hot or as fast. However, if you were to soak a piece of wood in water until it was saturated, you might have trouble getting it to burn.

Of course even that would be dependent upon whether you were just trying to light the piece of wood with a match, or simply adding it to an already burning pile of wood. Since the moisture (water) itself doesn't burn, it needs to be evaporated before the wood itself can burn. If you add a piece of water soaked wood to the fire, some of the moisture could seep down to the burning part of the fire and also dampen the fire a bit. Now, if the water soaked piece of wood is frozen (icy), the fire would also have to thaw it out before it would burn. The wood itself would burn, but the moisture, especially if it's frozen slows things down a good bit.

And here ends todays chemistry and physics lessons!


So what would happen if you ahad a flame and sprayed it with liquid nitrogen?

i will not wait here to see what happens

Sorry for going on at such great detail... I deal with trying to burn frozen icy wood sometimes on a daily basis during the winter... I much prefer for the wood to burn easily, and after this much experience with it, I know what wood burns easily, what's difficult to burn, and why.

I have no idea what happens if you try to burn liquid nitrogen... I don't even know if it's flammable or not.

I don't know either - but as for burning wood....
Soak the wood you want to use in a bucket of parrafin (or whatver you call it over there) and it will get a fire going with very little effort. Put the wood on the fire, not the bucket of parrafin!!

Just mind your fingers when you apply the match!

I have 4-1/2 cords of wood on hand right now... There's not a bucket *big* enough to soak all that wood! I'm on my second carrier of firewood this morning (10:15am). Each carrier full holds approximately 7-10 pieces of approximately 4"-6" diameter logs. With the temperatures the way they are today, I will probably go through another 4-5 carriers full of wood before the day is through.

By parrafin, I would assume what you mean is liquid parrafin? That's ultrapure lamp oil over here, and very costly.

I make firestarters A877917, and try to keep some smaller pieces of dry wood or dry bark handy to use as kindling if neccessary when the wood is extremely wet, or icy.

Lady S. I am impressed .
When I lived on a wooden motorcruiser on the Thames (Rented not owned ) I had a wood/coal stove. The only problem was it would go out after 8 hours, no matter how well banked it was. This meant I had to light it am and pm. I gave up eventually, and just put on extra layers or went out. I admire your dedication

St. Scuttle the reprieved?

Lady S - you don't have to soak all the wood - just the first lot of the day. By which time, the fire should be hot enough to dry out and burn any further wood added to the fire.
We pay very little for it over here, it's used for all sorts of things. I think we're talking about two different things. Clive would know - he's been on both sides of the "pond"

I have a little less than absolutely no clue what's going on.