Is there any way to predict if a substance is flammable or not?

  • Context: Undergrad 
  • Thread starter Thread starter tsuwal
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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the prediction of a substance's flammability, exploring whether certain physical and chemical properties can indicate flammability beyond known classes of compounds like alkanes. Participants consider various factors, including enthalpy changes and specific conditions affecting combustion.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Conceptual clarification, Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant notes that while some classes of compounds are known to be flammable, there may be other physical and chemical properties that could serve as indicators of flammability.
  • Another participant suggests that the term "flammable" can be subjective, citing an example of newspaper struggling to ignite in a low-oxygen environment.
  • A participant introduces the concepts of 'flash point' and 'autoignition temperature' as relevant factors in assessing flammability.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the definition and assessment of flammability, with no consensus reached on a definitive method for predicting it.

Contextual Notes

There are limitations in the discussion regarding the assumptions made about the conditions under which flammability is assessed, as well as the dependence on specific definitions of flammability.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be of interest to those studying chemistry, materials science, or safety engineering, particularly in relation to combustion and material properties.

tsuwal
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You know that some classes of compounds are flammable like alkanes but is there any other based to know based on other physical and chemistry properties? Probabibly the only way is writing the chemical equation of combustion and see if the change of entalpy is high..
 
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Looks like you answered your own question.:)
 
Flamable is quite a subjective word. I recently saw an interesting demonstration on TV of some people trying to burn newspaper in a low oxygen room. The level was high enough that the people were fine and didn't need oxygen masks - but low enough that they had great difficulty trying to set fire to the paper. The paper didn't appear to be flamable.
 
thanks! you guys are awesome!
 

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