Fire possible only on planets with life? - Unmanned Spaceflight.com

Fire possible only on planets with life?

Floyd View Member Profile	Feb 10 2007, 02:14 PM Post #1
Member Group: Members Posts: 948 Joined: 4-September 06 From: Boston Member No.: 1102	It has been quite cold in Boston for awhile, and as I sat in front a nice warm fire visiting Mars and Saturn at UMSF, my wife, Laura, asked whether fire is possible on planets without life. After some thought, I answered no. I’m interested in your feedback. The things on Earth that burn ie wood, oil, coal, are mostly of organic origin. Furthermore, the oxygen in our atmosphere was put their largely by plants. Is the drastic chemical disequilibrium necessary for occasional surface fires on a planet dependent on living organisms? Are surface (forest) fires on a planet a sign of life? I’m sure this question has been addressed in science or literature (SF) before and would appreciate any references or links. What other chemistries could produce a nice fire if we wanted a “bonfire” at Victoria for the UMSF picnic? Anything UMSFers could gather from the planet surface in a massive treasure hunt? I hope we don’t have to each bring a stick from Earth and an oxygen tank! Floyd -------------------- Floyd

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djellison View Member Profile	Feb 11 2007, 04:04 PM Post #2
Founder Group: Chairman Posts: 14457 Joined: 8-February 04 Member No.: 1	Magnesium will happily burn in a CO2 atmosphere ( as anyone who's tried to put out Magnesium with a CO2 extinguisher will tell you ) Doug

Posts in this topic

Floyd Fire possible only on planets with life? Feb 10 2007, 02:14 PM

DEChengst We could mine sulfur at volcanoes, and nitrates fr... Feb 10 2007, 03:13 PM

dvandorn Well, yes, there are a number of different non-org... Feb 10 2007, 05:54 PM

alan QUOTE (dvandorn @ Feb 10 2007, 11:54 AM) ... Feb 11 2007, 03:56 PM

ugordan You don't necessarily need oxygen to burn stuf... Feb 10 2007, 06:00 PM

dvandorn Drat, I knew I should have added this in my first ... Feb 10 2007, 06:06 PM

DEChengst QUOTE (dvandorn @ Feb 10 2007, 07:06 PM) ... Feb 10 2007, 06:43 PM

nprev You want fire? Light a match on Titan, then open t... Feb 10 2007, 06:15 PM

Floyd Thanks for your responses. I would define fire a... Feb 10 2007, 07:22 PM

nprev Not that I recall, but I'd advise you to resea... Feb 10 2007, 09:09 PM

deglr6328 The question is important and cuts very deep to th... Feb 11 2007, 10:32 AM

helvick I'm a bit confused with the emphasis on making... Feb 11 2007, 11:52 AM

djellison Magnesium will happily burn in a CO2 atmosphere ( ... Feb 11 2007, 04:04 PM

nprev Sounds like personal experience, Doug? Sure e... Feb 11 2007, 05:10 PM

tty I remember that somebody (Arthur C. Clarke?) once ... Feb 11 2007, 05:16 PM

Stephen QUOTE (tty @ Feb 12 2007, 04:16 AM) I rem... Feb 19 2007, 09:37 AM

edstrick My understanding -- it may be wrong -- is that onc... Feb 12 2007, 09:31 AM

djellison I've never tried to put it out with a CO2 exti... Feb 12 2007, 09:40 AM

edstrick One thing I'm SURE of.... it won't burn in... Feb 12 2007, 09:49 AM

Juramike Flourine will burn impressively well in a hydrogen... Feb 12 2007, 03:57 PM

helvick Apart from the already poisonous ambient atmospher... Feb 12 2007, 07:16 PM

nprev Good old Arthur C....how's he doing these days... Feb 19 2007, 03:14 PM

tty I agree - a high oxygen atmosphere is probably an ... Feb 19 2007, 06:59 PM

nprev Excellent point, tty; anerobes rule! Come t... Feb 19 2007, 07:24 PM

JRehling [...] Feb 20 2007, 03:49 PM

Juramike QUOTE (JRehling @ Feb 20 2007, 10:49 AM) ... Feb 20 2007, 11:16 PM

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