Fire and Gravity

[xx_mortekai_xx]

While I am always open to new ways of making things burn, I was under the impression that you needed a strong oxidizer of some sort to have a proper fire.

hydrogen will oxidize with floruine (which is a strong oxidizer). They have used HF as a propellant in some test rocket engines, but it leaves really nasty residues, so it has not been used on an operational engine.

[xx_mortekai_xx]

What is going on with the not ordinary fire that oxygen is not required? You talking catalytic stuff as in some non typical type of fire? Passing hydrogen peroxide over a catalyst? You'd call that a fire?

i think he means excluding situations like rocket engines. As in normal fires here on earth, where the oxygen from the air is the oxidizer.

[grandpa]

i think he means excluding situations like rocket engines.
As in normal fires here on earth, where the oxygen
from the air is the oxidizer.

I don't know much about it, but I've read that the environment in a space shuttle is not pure oxygen.

Grandpa h.

[seyorni]

Propellants always contain their own oxidizers.
I thought we were talking about ordinary combustion, as Mortekai pointed out.

[xx_mortekai_xx]

I don't know much about it, but I've read that the environment in a space shuttle is not pure oxygen.

Grandpa h.

its not. what is your point?

[xx_mortekai_xx]

Propellants always contain their own oxidizers.
I thought we were talking about ordinary combustion, as Mortekai pointed out.

nitrogen is used as a propellant (cold gas thrusters). it does not require an oxidizer.

even combustion propellants do not usually carry their own oxidizer. hydrogen requires a seperate oxy supply in the space shuttle. they are in the same external superstructure, however. most cryogenic engines require seperate fuel and oxidizer supplies, in fact.

the solid rockets do carry the oxidizer in the solid propellant, though.