In science, fire is typically defined as the combustion of hydrocarbon structures, wherein carbon and oxygen react exergonically to produce carbon dioxide, water, heat, and light. In 1938 French philosopher Gaston Bachelard gave the following view of fire: [1]

“When, as I have done on many occasions, one asks educated persons and even eminent scientists, ‘What is fire?’, one receives vague or tautological answers which unconsciously repeat the most ancient and fanciful philosophical theories.”

Theories behind the operation or mechanisms that occur in fire, specifically fire seen as one of the four classical elements (350BC), sulphur (1524), terra pinguis (1669), phlogiston (1703), caloric (1787), entropy (1865), led to the development of the science of thermodynamics. The traditional alchemical symbol for fire was the capital delta Δ.

See also
● Reflections on the Motive Power of Fire

References
1. (a) Bachelard, Gaston. (1938). The Psychoanalysis of Fire (pgs. 2-3). Librairie Gallimard.
(b) Gaston Bachelard – Wikipedia.

External links
● Fire – Wikipedia.