Ability to easily ignite in air at ambient temperatures
DIN4102 Flammability Class B1 Vertical Shaft Furnace at Technische Universität Braunschweig, GermanySample Holder for DIN4102 Flammability Class B1 Vertical Shaft FurnaceThe international pictogram for inflammable chemicalsGerman test apparatus for determining combustibility at Technische Universität Braunschweig
A combustible material is a material that can burn (i.e., sustain a flame) in air under certain conditions. A material is flammable if it ignites easily at ambient temperatures. In other words, a combustible material ignites with some effort and a flammable material catches fire immediately on exposure to flame.
The degree of flammability in air depends largely upon the volatility of the material - this is related to its composition-specific vapour pressure, which is temperature dependent. The quantity of vapour produced can be enhanced by increasing the surface area of the material forming a mist or dust. Take wood as an example. Finely divided wood dust can undergo explosive flames and produce a blast wave. A piece of paper (made from wood) catches on fire quite easily. A heavy oak desk is much harder to ignite, even though the wood fibre is the same in all three materials.
Common sense (and indeed scientific consensus until the mid-1700s) would seem to suggest that material "disappears" when burned, as only the ash is left. In fact, there is an increase in weight because the flammable material reacts (or combines) chemically with oxygen, which also has mass. The original mass of flammable material and the mass of the oxygen required for flames equals the mass of the flame products (ash, water, carbon dioxide, and other gases). Antoine Lavoisier, one of the pioneers in these early insights, stated that Nothing is lost, nothing is created, everything is transformed, which would later be known as the law of conservation of mass. Lavoisier used the experimental fact that some metals gained mass when they burned to support his ideas.
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a combustible material ignites with some effort and a flammable material catches fire immediately on exposure to flame. The degree of flammability in...
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flame retardant Cable tray Channel tunnel Circuit integrity Combustibilityandflammability Compartmentalisation Construction Endothermic Fire Fire protection...
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people[citation needed] People with disabilities Elderly people Very young children and infants Medical personnel who may be operating on a patient at the time of...
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a given environment Flammability (the ability to burn) Preferred oxidation state(s) Ability to corrode Combustibility Acidity and basicity Chemistry portal...
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