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Things Really Do Catch Fire - Coggle Diagram
Things Really Do Catch Fire
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What is Fire and How it Burns
oxidization
: A chemical reaction where a substance combines with oxygen
ignition
The moment when a material starts burning
combustion
A fast chemical reaction between fuel and oxygen, releasing heat and light = burning
flash point
The lowest temperature at which a liquid gives off enough vapor to ignite in air.
convection
The movement of heat through fluids (air or liquid); important in how fire spreads
fire triangle
A simple model showing the
three elements
needed for fire: heat, fuel, and oxygen. Remove one, fire stops.
fire tetrahedron
An updated model that adds a
chemical reaction
as the fourth element
flame
The visible, glowing part of a fire, made of hot gases and plasma from burning material
fuel
:Any substance that can burn
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The Origins and Ownership of Fire
Discovery
or Invention? back to 1.5 million years ago (Homo erectus in Africa), started controlling and using fire regularly around 400,000 years ago.
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Starting Fires: Tools and Ethics
lighter
match
lenses
hand drill
fire striker
flint & steel
safety match
Greek Fire and Modern Equivalents
Greek fire
: ancient, inextinguishable weapon = pine resin + naphtha + quicklime + calcium phosphide + sulfur + niter
Modern equivalents:
napalm, thermite, white phosphorus.
Callinicus of Heliopolis
, a Greek-speaking Jewish refugee, is recognized for inventing Greek fire after fleeing the Arab conquest of Syria during the 7th century.
Fire as Entertainment and Art
storytelling or art?
natural phenomena like wind also be used creatively
🎆
Fireworks: Joy and Danger
Invented in ancient China, made from
gunpowder.
Widely celebrated, but also cause injuries. Should
fireworks be banned?
Possible
replacements
for fireworks.
Firework in MUSIC
George Frideric Handel | Music for the Royal Fireworks (1749)
- Baroque ceremonial
Igor Stravinsky | Feu d'artifice (1908)
- Early modern orchestral piece
Claude Debussy | “Feux d'artifice” (1913)
- Impressionist solo piano
Oliver Knussen | Flourish with Fireworks (1988)
- Modern orchestral fanfare
halyosy | “Fire◎Flower” (2008)
- J-pop/Vocaloid
Katy Perry | “Firework” (2010)
- Pop
🔥 Fire Tenders and Fire Myths
Early communities had
fire keepers.
Fire myths symbolize
continuity, life, civilization.
Question: What else in life is
easier to maintain than to restart?
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Fire in Art, Music, and Literature
Art
Georges de La Tour | Magdalen with the Smoking Flame (1640)
- The flame represents spiritual reflection, inner transformation, and mortality.
Jan Griffier | Great Fire of London, 1666
- The Great Fire of London in 1666 was caused by a small fire that started in a bakery. A tiny fire in a bakery + strong winds + wooden buildings = one of the most famous fires in history. 🔥
Paul Sandby | Windsor Castle from the Lower Court, on the 5th November (1776)
- Shows Guy Fawkes Night, when people set off fireworks to remember a failed attempt to blow up Parliament.
J.M.W. Turner | The Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons, 16 October 1834 (1835)
The real event was the destruction of the old Parliament buildings because of an accident with burning tally sticks. Turner captured the huge emotion of that night, not just the facts.
Tsukioka Yoshitoshi | The Moon in Smoke (1886)
- Fire = Confusion, mystery, fragility of beauty.
Alberto Burri | Red Plastic (1961)
- Fire = Transformation, destruction leading to creation.
Yves Klein | Fire Paintings (1957-1961)
- Fire = Purity, elemental power, the act of creation itself.
Music
Joseph Haydn | Fire Symphony (c. 1760)
- Nicknamed “Fire” likely because it was performed with onstage torches
Richard Wagner | “Magic Fire Music” (1870)
- Part of Die WalkĂĽre: fire surrounds a sleeping Valkyrie to protect her
Jean Sibelius | The Origin of Fire (1910)
- A Finnish myth where a shaman brings fire to humanity
Igor Stravinsky | Suite from The Firebird (1919)
- fire = transformation, power, beauty
Sergei Prokofiev | Winter Bonfire (1951)
- A musical suite for children about a real winter campfire
Jerry Lee Lewis | “Great Balls of Fire” (1957)
- Fire = uncontrollable desire and passion. Wild rock ’n’ roll energy.
Johnny Cash | “Ring of Fire” (1963)
- Love burns like a ring of fire—beautiful, dangerous, consuming
Vangelis | “Chariots Of Fire” (1981)
- Fire = drive, spiritual strength, and glory.
Billy Joel | “We Didn’t Start The Fire” (1989)
Fire = chaos of 20th-century history.
Literature
William Blake | “The Tyger” (1794)
- Fire is a symbol of fierce beauty and dangerous creativity
Forrest Gander | “Wasteland: on the California Wildfires” (2020)
-Fire as an unstoppable natural force worsened by human neglect and climate change.
Linda Hogan | “The History of Fire” (2021)
- Fire connects past and present, pain and renewal.
Jorie Graham | “I Am Still” (2023)
- Less about literal fire, more about the lingering heat of being alive amidst collapse.