- #1
expscv
- 241
- 0
why is that metal can melt into liquid form but not wood, can anyone help me, thx
Why Does Metal Melt but Wood Doesn't?
Click For Summary
Discussion Overview
The discussion revolves around the differences in melting behavior between metals and wood, exploring the reasons why wood does not melt in the same way metals do. Participants examine the chemical composition of wood, its transformation under heat, and the implications of combustion.
Discussion Character
- Exploratory
- Technical explanation
- Conceptual clarification
- Debate/contested
Main Points Raised
- One participant notes that wood is primarily carbon, which has a high melting point, suggesting it combusts before reaching that temperature.
- Another participant adds that even in the absence of oxygen, wood would chemically transform before melting, referencing personal experimental experience.
- A later reply questions whether the melting point of wood could be considered the melting point of the products formed from wood after transformation.
- Some participants discuss the process of heating wood, mentioning that it drives off water vapor and methane, leaving behind carbon, and relate this to the production of coal.
- One participant argues that wood does not have a melting point due to its complex chemical mixture, while also noting that some materials can sublimate directly to gas without melting.
- There is a clarification about the ashes left after burning wood, confirming that they consist of carbon.
Areas of Agreement / Disagreement
Participants express various viewpoints on the melting behavior of wood and its chemical transformations, indicating that there is no consensus on whether wood has a melting point or how to define it in relation to its products.
Contextual Notes
The discussion includes assumptions about the chemical properties of wood and the conditions under which it is heated, which may not be universally applicable. There are also unresolved questions regarding the definitions of melting points in complex mixtures.
- #2
Claude Bile
Science Advisor
- 1,478
- 26
Wood is mostly carbon, whose melting point is around 1500 K (but don't quote me on that). It will therefore combust long before you reach a temperature high enough to melt it.
Claude.
Claude.
- #3
alpha_wolf
- 163
- 0
And even if you completely remove all oxigen, thus preventing combustion, IIRC the wood would transform into other stuff (chemically) before it reaches that temperature (or whatever the correct temperature is).
- #4
russ_watters
Mentor
- 23,867
- 11,317
In junior high, I did an experiment where we heated wood in a test tube over a bunsen burner. It does exactly that: you drive off water vapor and methane, leaving carbon.alpha_wolf said:
- #5
Crumbles
- 142
- 0
Does this mean that the melting point of wood is actually the melting point of the products formed from wood after it's transformed?alpha_wolf said:
- #6
Crumbles
- 142
- 0
russ_watters said:
That's how they make coal, isn't it?
- #7
alpha_wolf
- 163
- 0
russ_watters said:
Now that I think about it, I think we used to make our own coal when I was little, by heating pieces of wood in our kitchen oven. I don't remember for sure, but we probably wrapped it in something to prevent it from combusting.Crumbles said:
I'd say that wood basically doesn't have a melting point at all. Btw, not all materials melt (at least at normal temperature and pressure) - some go straight to gas, e.g. CO2. It's called sublimation.Crumbles said:
- #8
russ_watters
Mentor
- 23,867
- 11,317
You could say that: wood is just too complex of a mixture of chemicals for it to have a melting point.Crumbles said:
- #9
ArmoSkater87
- 253
- 0
So, the ashes left after combusting wood is carbon right?
- #10
Mk
- 2,040
- 4
yupArmoSkater87 said:
Similar threads
High School
Why doesn't wood melt while ice won't burn?
- · Replies 7 ·
- · Replies 4 ·
- · Replies 3 ·
- · Replies 15 ·
- · Replies 18 ·
Wood/Glass/Metal
Why are two-part wood bleaches mixed before being applied?
- · Replies 3 ·
- · Replies 4 ·
- · Replies 2 ·