What kind of substance is fire? Solid, liquid and gas, or just a kind of light?

Fire is the light and heat produced by the burning of matter, and it is a kind of energy. Combustible, ignition point and oxidant must coexist to catch fire. All three are indispensable. Fire is a plasma state between gas, solid and liquid. Fire is composed of substances in plasma state, and plasma is the fourth state of substances (the other three are solid, liquid and gas) defined by British physicist Sir william crookes in 1879.

Fire is a very broad concept, which basically includes two elements: luminescence (photon generation) and heat generation (such as oxidation and nuclear reaction). In life, fire can be regarded as a symbol of some changes in matter. Many substances can produce light and heat in certain changes or reactions, which constitute what we call "fire".

Take candles for example. When wax burns, it certainly produces fire. But who should we think is fire? Is it wax, or carbon dioxide, water, or even small molecular organic matter decomposed from carbon or wax?

Water and carbon dioxide cannot produce fire alone, so this possibility can be ruled out; When the candle burns, we see black smoke, which means that the carbon is still intact and has not reacted, so this possibility does not exist. As for other hetero molecules, they are also by-products of combustion. Since it is called a product, it will not change during the reaction we are discussing, so it should be excluded. There is only wax left. Wax is fire? That's ridiculous. Yes, wax itself is by no means fire, but fire comes from wax, not any other substance mentioned above, that's for sure. Wax produces fire, but fire is not any reactant or product itself in this reaction! Fire is fire itself! But fire is actually a substance, but it is not just a substance.

Maybe we will ask "what is lightning", and some people may reply that "lightning is a phenomenon, not a substance", which makes no sense. In fact, this problem is worth thinking about. Lightning is produced in the air, or more precisely in the clouds (mainly water). The book tells us that lightning is caused by neutralization, but it misses the point. I believe that some people say that "lightning is a natural phenomenon" and no one will refute it, but my lightning and his lightning are two different words. I said a material noun, and he said a gerund! For example, when I say lightning is like snow, he says lightning is like falling snow or snow. The understanding of fire also has the same understanding difference. However, we should be clear that any natural phenomenon is material. What exists objectively is the material itself, and its phenomenon is only a reflection in the human brain, or it is human perception and subsequent rational thinking.

In fire, light is both matter and energy, which is not difficult to accept. Regarding heat, most people think that heat is only energy, but in fact, thermal radiation, as an electromagnetic radiation, is also material in quantum physics, which is the same as the essence of light. At a deeper level, matter and energy are unified and equivalent. It's just that contemporary physics circles tend to unify matter with limited energy. So the essence of fire is not only electromagnetic wave with light wave and thermal radiation, but also matter and energy with light energy and thermal energy.

When electrons leave the nucleus, this process is called ionization. At this time, the substance becomes a uniform "paste" composed of positively charged nuclei and negatively charged electrons, which is called ionic slurry. These plasmas have equal total positive and negative charges, so they are also called plasmas.

The fire we usually see is the photon emitted by ionized electrons when they return to the ground state from the excited state. Photons with different energies have different colors.

Does fire have gravity? The answer is yes, because the shape of the fire in the weightless space capsule is spherical, and its shape is influenced by gravity.

In junior high school chemistry, fire is defined as the phenomenon of heat and light produced in the process of burning substances, so how to explain it? That's because junior high school chemistry explains fire from macroscopic phenomena, while modern physics pays more attention to explaining phenomena from microscopic particles after entering the microscopic field.

From the macro definition of matter, fire is matter, because from the macro definition of philosophy, the state of matter is also matter, and matter and state are not contradictory.

Fire is the basis of diet and cooking. It should be said that with fire, there is a food culture. Before the birth of fire, the ancestors could only live a primitive and animal-like life. The so-called "eating the food of vegetation, the meat of birds and beasts, drinking their blood, like their hair." As Han Feizi said, "People eat fruits and clams, and their stomachs are injured by foul smell, which leads to many diseases." After the birth of fire, "guns are familiar to people, making people have no abdominal diseases and different from animals." The inventor of fire, China, has always been said to be a man who drilled a fire to make a fire. Archaeologists preliminarily speculated from the stone tools used by Beijingers in Zhoukoudian that China people began to use fire consciously, about 500,000 years ago.

There are three emperors and five emperors in the history of China, and there are at least four versions of Huang San. One version is Fuxi, Shennong, Huangdi (the world book, the imperial century); There is a saying that Fuxi, Nv unfortunately and Shennong (Ji, customs pass); One view is Fu Xifei, Shennong and Zhu Rong (White Tiger Boy); There is also a saying that Fuxi, Shennong and Suirenshi (Baihutong). Suiren must be after Fuxi Shennong. Because according to China folklore, since Fuxi, the king of the imperial court has owned the world; Fuxi was followed by Bai Huangshi, Zhong, Shi, Li, Zunjie, Zhu Rong, Chaos, Shi, You Chaoshi, Ge, Kang Yinshi, Zhu Shixiang, Wu Huaishi and Sui Renshi, all of which attacked Xi Shi (Zhu Xiang family).

Corpse: "Look up at the stars, look down at five trees and think it's fire." According to the five elements of yin and yang, fire is born in wood, so people use wood to make a fire. "The History of Taoism" says that embarrassing people is to watch the dry elephant, watch the heart and get out of the fire, and make embarrassment. According to the ancients, "Chen Xin" is called "Xinsu", that is, "Big Mars". The so-called "five wood" refers to five kinds of wood that are considered suitable for fire at the right time. That is, "Yu; Liu Qing, so bring it in spring; Jujube: apricot red, so eat it in summer; Sang: Huang Zhe, so I took it at the end of summer; Tussah: (Mukui) white, so take autumn; Sophora japonica; Suntanned, so bring it in winter. "

After a man drills a fire, his wooden drilling tool is called fire. Later generations invented using metal to take fire from the sun, so there are two kinds of "wood fire" and "yang fire". "Huainanzi" notes: "Yang Sui sees the sun and burns into a fire. Yang Xiang, Jin Ye. The sun is three or four feet high, and if you cling to the sun, you will be angry for a moment. " "Notes on Ancient and Modern Times": "The pith of yang is copper, which is shaped like a mirror. When you look at things, the scenery falls and you light a fire at the sun. "

Before the Han Dynasty, it was called "open fire" to make a fire with incense, and "national fire" to make a fire with wood. According to the "Great Wish" and "Great Reconnaissance" in Zhou Li, the yang marrow is taken from the sun and close to the sky, so it is used for divination and sacrifice. Wood is taken from five trees and is close to people, so it is used for cooking. After the Han dynasty, when a metal hits a stone, it can also be rubbed into fire, so a simple piece of iron can be turned into a yang sui. When people go out, they usually wear Yang Xiang and Mu Xiang on the left side of their waist to make a fire at any time. In addition, there are tinder made of wormwood and salt water. When the spark falls on the tinder and burns due to friction, the fire is ignited by "lighting a candle". The so-called "hair candle" is a small piece made of peeled hemp stalks, which is five or six inches long. At first, it flows with sulfur and burns when it meets fire.

Where there is fire, there is a stove. The person who made the stove said that it was Emperor Yan, and Huai Nanzi: "Emperor Yan died with fire as the stove." Note: "Yan Di Shennong ruled the world with fire and died in the kitchen god." One is the Yellow Emperor: "Continued Beginning": "The Yellow Emperor sets the stove." Therefore, "Everything must be the original" said: "The Yellow Emperor cooked and died as a kitchen god." And Vulcan, generally speaking, is Zhu Rong. Huainanzi? Note: "Zhu Rong Ng Wui, for the fire of Gao Xin, died as Vulcan, put his hand on the stove." Historical records? Chu family: "Li Dong lived in the fire for Di Ku Gaoxin and made great contributions. He can blend in with the world, and Di Ku called him' Zhu Rong'. " "The Book of Rites and the Moon Order": "The moon exists, its emperor, its god Zhu Rong and its sacrificial furnace are sacrificed to the teacher." The original shape of the stove was to dig holes in the ground. Today, the furnace excavated from Xi 'an Banpo site is a kind of double furnace, that is, two fire pits are dug on the surface. These two pits are separated on the ground, but they are connected underground. A pit is where firewood enters, a pit is where people leave, and the hole connected with the two pits is the stove door. Banpo in Xi 'an has a history of six or seven thousand years, and its inventor should be Emperor Yan rather than Yellow Emperor. It is estimated that the Yellow Emperor was in power about 4600 years ago. Emperor Yan passed down seventy generations before the Yellow Emperor, about six or seven thousand years ago. By the Warring States period, the production of stoves had been perfect. "Zeng Lianzi" notes: "There are five protrusions (protrusions: chimneys) in one furnace, and there are many people who distribute cigarettes, and it is cooked for ten times."

Cooking with fire, the ancients immediately noticed the importance of heat for cooking. In ancient Chinese, the first talk about the importance of cooking is "Lu Chunqiu?" This flavor article. " Among them, Yi Yin told Shang Tang: "Water is the beginning of all tastes. Five flavors and three ingredients, nine boiling and nine changes, fire is the discipline. If you are sick, you will be slow. If you use it, you will win. Reconciliation must be bittersweet. How many times, its gas is extremely small, and there are changes, subtle and micro-fiber, plausible, plausible. If you shoot the slightest, Yin and Yang will transform, and the number of four seasons will be counted. It is harmless for a long time, ripe but not rotten, sweet but not tasted, sour but not cold, undiminished in work, pungent but not strong, light but not thin, fat but not [month]. "The general idea of this passage translated into vernacular is that water is the first of all tastes. Cooking is based on sweet, sour, bitter, spicy and salty flavors and Shui Mu fire. There will be nine changes when the pot is boiled for nine times, and it is up to the fire to explore and adjust. Sometimes with strong fire, sometimes with slow fire, the key to removing fishy smell and shame is to master the heat. Only by mastering the law of using fire can the odor be turned into fragrance. Seasoning must use five flavors of sweet, sour, bitter, spicy and salty, but the order of seasoning and the amount of materials used are very subtle. The change of Ding is subtle, subtle and indescribable, even if it is known, it is hard to say clearly. Just like putting an arrow on a horse, you should practice your cooking skillfully. Such as the natural combination of yin and yang, such as the natural changes of the four seasons, cooking skills can be cooked for a long time, cooked but not rotten, sweet but not strong, sour but not astringent, spicy but not irritating, light but not tasteless, fat but not greasy.

Yuan Mei later wrote a section on temperature in Suiyuan Food List. He thinks that the key to cooking food is to master the heat. Stir-frying must use strong fire, and if the firepower is insufficient, the fried things will be weak; You must stew it with warm fire. When the fire is big, the stew will dry. If you want to collect soup, use strong fire first, then warm fire. If you are impatient, keep using fierce fire, and the food will be tender outside. He thinks that kidneys and eggs are more tender when cooked; Fresh fish and clams will not be tender if they are cooked for a while. When the pork is cooked, it should be cooked, so that the color is rosy, and it will turn black when it is cooked. If the fish is cooked late, the live meat will die. When cooking, the more times you open the lid, the more fragrant the dish will be. If the fire is put out and burned again, the food will lose its oil and taste. Yuan Mei said that it is rumored that Taoist priests have to undergo nine cycles of metamorphosis before they can be refined into a true elixir, while Confucianism is based on not being excessive and working hard to get home. A chef must master cooking correctly and operate carefully in order to master cooking basically. The fish cooked by a chef who is proficient in cooking should taste as white as jade and the meat will not come loose. This kind of meat is live. If the color is as white as powder, loose and not sticky, it is dead meat.

The ancients thought that fire was divided into new fire and old fire. The charcoal fire, bamboo fire, grass fire and hemp cover (hemp cover fire: fire burning with hemp root) used in cook the meat with warm wine have different smells. In Fire, various kinds of fires cooked with various foods are listed: "Sangchai: Cooking food is good for people. Boiling old ducks and meat can make them extremely rotten and can cure all kinds of poisons. Dirty firewood is not suitable for food. Rice ear fire: when cooking, people's five internal organs are fascinated. Wheat ear fire: cooking, quenching thirst, moistening throat and facilitating urination. Loose firewood: cooking, strengthening bones and muscles, not cooking tea. Oak wood: boiled pork, no wind, cooked chickens, ducks and geese, bad smell and other things. Mao Qiao: the cook eats and drinks, and tomorrow he will detoxify. Luhuo and Zhuhuo: All tonics should be fried. Charcoal fire: it is advisable to fry tea, which is delicious but not turbid. Bran fire: rice bran fire is used for cooking and dietotherapy, and it can support two pots with a supporting ground stove. Southerners use it more, and its cost is half that of firewood. When I was in spring, there were people and insects in the chaff, which killed me. "

However, Yuan Man Jia Ming told me in "Dietary Instructions": "It is better to use the fire beads of Yang years old, take the sun as the real fire the next day, and then stick a drill to make a fire." He believes that "it is impossible to strike a stone with gold (that is, strike a flint with iron to make a fire) and drill a fire of eight trees." Yagami people: pine is difficult to heal (epidemic disease refers to: pine fire is difficult to heal), cypress fire hurts the spirit and sweat, mulberry fire hurts the tendons, zhe fire hurts the qi, jujube fire hurts the blood, orange fire hurts the meridians, elm fire hurts the bones and muscles, and bamboo fire hurts the bones and muscles. "

Gu also opposed using flint to make fire, thinking that using flint to make fire would affect life. But he believes that the fire of wood should be taken according to the changes of the four seasons and five elements. He said: "People must take wood from fire, and there are four seasons and five elements." "Su Wen" Huang: A big fire dissipates qi, but a little fire makes you angry. Zhou Li: Ji Chun's fire is more valuable than his new fire, which means less fire. Today everything is taken from a stone, and it is violent and not suitable for people. Many diseases and phlegm reduce the number of years of life. "

The ancients called fire "the essence of Yang". The last five lines record: "Fire is the essence of yang and fire is inflammation." River map? Flat and wide article: "Yang Jing San, hair like fire." The ancients called man one of the five elements, thinking that man has no spirit and can kill everything, which is infinitely wonderful. The ancients believed that there were two unique kinds of fire in the five elements, and there was only one other kind. The so-called second is that fire can be divided into yin fire and yang fire. The ancients also divided fire into three types: sky fire, ground fire and human fire. They think there are four sky fires, five field fires and three human fires. There are two fires in the sun; Sun, true fire; Star elf, Fei Huo. There are two kinds of yin fire in the sky: dragon fire (called fire in Longkou) and thunder fire. There are three yang fires in the soil; The fire of drilling wood, the fire of hitting stone, and the fire of gold. There are two kinds of underground fire: oil fire (the ancients said that oil will naturally catch fire when stored in a certain amount) and water fire (the ancients called it Jianghu sea, and there was fire at night). There is one yang fire, the fire of Bing Dingjun (that is, the so-called heart and small intestine are separated from the fire), and two yin fires, that is, the fire of Mingmen (that is, the fire from Beihai, which is called the fire of fire, and the fire of three flavors (pure yang, dry fire). A total of * * Yang fire six, Yin fire six, * * twelve.

China's lighting tools have been very backward. For a long time, the original "hair candle" was always used. In the Tang and Song Dynasties, a more exquisite "hair candle" made of pine was developed. Committee Talk: "Ren Hang cut pine into small pieces as thin as paper and coated it with sulfur, which is called' sending candles'." It was also called "fire inch" after the Song Dynasty. "Qing Louis? Instrument: "There is an emergency at night, so it is difficult to slow down the lights. A wise man approved these loose tapes, dyed them with sulfur and put them aside for use. When you meet a fire, you will get a flame, which is God's; It's called' fire slave'. Now that there is a borrower, it is renamed as' Fire Inch'. "

It is said that in the Southern Song Dynasty, there was a workshop specializing in making "fire inch". Therefore, the Japanese have long called matches "phosphorus inches". The inventor of matches is said to be Swedish. 1833, they began to use yellow phosphorus as friction matches. However, yellow phosphorus is toxic, easy to spontaneously ignite and unsafe. 1855, Rentas Tome invented the use of red phosphorus instead of yellow phosphorus, and the first batch of safety matches in the world was born. Matches entered China from 1880, when Richard, an Englishman, opened his first match business office in Shanghai. 1890, the Swedes opened the first match factory in China-Ruishang Foreign Firm. The trademark of the first match produced in China bears a bust of Cixi. It is said that China's first match coincided with Cixi's 60th birthday. Because matches are imported from abroad, people in China call them "matches".