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michael223344: 1 year ago

How is it possible for water, to put out fires?

Hydrogen is an explosive gas, and oxygen supports combustion, how is it possible then for water to put out a fire?

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Answer 1

Dalton63842: 1 year ago via iPhone | Last edited at 2:05AM on 5/11/2012

H2O, as a compound, does not have the same characteristics as the elements that make it up. In the same manner that peroxide is H2O2, but you wouldn't want to drink it, even though the only difference is 1 extra oxygen atom.
water has a very high specific heat index. this means it takes a lot of energy to change the temperature of water. this allows water to cool the surface enough to kill the fire, before the fire can break water down to its base elements.
Note: there have been instances where a fire gets so big and out of control that it actually will break water down to hydrogen and oxygen, making the fire grow instead of putting it out.

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rghurst: 1 year ago via iPhone

Excellent answer. At least a few of us actually understand basic science.

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Answer 2

Kuckleburg: 1 year ago via Android

Water prevents the fire from breathing, hence extinguishing the flame.
The GASES, hydrogen and oxygen are quite volatile. However, water isn't a gas. It's a liquid.

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Answer 3

dunczn: 1 year ago

Fire needs heat, fuel, and oxygen to burn. Water takes away the oxygen, and usually wrecks the fuel too, which puts out the fire. When hydrogen and oxygen combine they make water, but they have different properties by themselves.

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rghurst: 1 year ago via iPhone

Wrong. Read Dalton's answer above. Water acts by cooling the source, not by cutting off oxygen. You can put out a fire with a squirt gun one little bit at a time.

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