Do Magnets Affect Fire Behavior?

[cjameshuff]

To some degree, yes, magnets can control (or at least influence) fire. Flames are generally at least partially ionized (and various salts will ionize in flames, which is how the old "flame test" and colored fireworks work), and a net charge is not required, only a conductive fluid (saltwater can be manipulated electromagnetically too, and the plasma in fusion reactors like tokamaks is pretty neutral overall).

The same basic effects can even be used to directly produce electrical power...MHD generators are an area of active research and power plants using the technology have been built and operated. The focus there is in converting motion of combusting gases to electrical power, though, not in doing any particularly complex control via magnetic fields.

 

[Teiwaz]

Ok so i took over 30 matches to run a test, i placed two magnets on either side of a standard box wood match, near the base of the match facing one another , The match was held with a stationary tweezer like structure, and when the fire reached the area of the magnet it died out or in some cases, reversed the flame direction. I also did a few tests where the matches did not have magnets, in which case the entire match in all cases were consumed. What this means i do not know.. but i found it interesting.. I assumed because the magnet might be a conductor there could have been a possibility of heat transfer... but wasnt sure. either that or the magnets actually did stop the flame from burning the entire match in which case I am interested to find out what that means...

oh and i took four magnets and placed them on the match and noticed i could actually box in the flame well, until the wood inbetween the magnets was no longer able to burn.

 

[cjameshuff]

Ok so i took over 30 matches to run a test, i placed two magnets on either side of a standard box wood match, near the base of the match facing one another ,

This is unlikely to show any effect due to the magnetic field, anything you see is likely just due to the cold, air-obstructing magnets. The flame isn't substantially magnetic like iron is, it needs to be moving through the magnetic field or carrying an electrical current, or the magnetic field needs to be changing rapidly so it induces a current in the flame.

 

[rprosser]

Ok so i took over 30 matches to run a test, i placed two magnets on either side of a standard box wood match, near the base of the match facing one another , The match was held with a stationary tweezer like structure, and when the fire reached the area of the magnet it died out or in some cases, reversed the flame direction. I also did a few tests where the matches did not have magnets, in which case the entire match in all cases were consumed. What this means i do not know.. but i found it interesting.. I assumed because the magnet might be a conductor there could have been a possibility of heat transfer... but wasnt sure. either that or the magnets actually did stop the flame from burning the entire match in which case I am interested to find out what that means...

oh and i took four magnets and placed them on the match and noticed i could actually box in the flame well, until the wood inbetween the magnets was no longer able to burn.

You may wish to see my post, as I managed to extinguish a match flame via a collapsing magnetic field quite easily. I wish that more people would do experiments of this nature rather than just relying on their theoretical knowledge, which clearly can be quite limited in some cases. Unfortunately I do not have the resources to do much myself at present.

Richard