How does water put out fire? 

because water is blue and fire is red

It's cause fire can't swim, duh

"Common fires" implies the existence of a fire rarity hierarchy, and that excites me greatly. I can't wait to find out what epic fires are.

Some firefighting methods (like sand and probably at least some types of foam) do not absorb as much heat as water (in particular, sand does not boil at flame temperature, and in many cases won't even melt), so these will depend more upon excluding oxygen. Would be good to have a follow-up video about the fires that water CAN'T put out.

"From a young age, everyone is taught that water is the enemy of fire." ...But everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked.

"yes, i am blowtorching water"

It is also worthwhile to note that water has a large "specific heat capacity" as well. That means just GETTING it to 100C takes quite a bit of energy as well. The boiling is certainly the more significant portion but this does add to it. Also anything with enough water on it (or submerged) is not getting oxygen, so it does work at least somewhat on that part of the fire triangle, but yes, its main function is the removal of heat (mostly due to vaporization energy).

I’m a fire protection system specialist, and this is a great explanation and demonstrations. I’d love to see a follow up covering removing the heat chemically, but I don’t think you’d be able to get a demonstration going, definitely not on a doable budget, but I’d still love to hear you talk about it because you always explain things very nicely.

Everyone laughs until the water catches fire.

I was about to go to sleep, but now I need to know the answer to a question I didn't even know I had

I don't remember when I first watched this, but it stuck with me, and now I'm going through safety training for my new job, got to the part about fire, remembered this video and rewatched it to take notes on some of the very good info you have here. Thanks for making the video and making it publicly available to people. I know you're generally very big on safety and proper procedures- and I kinda wonder what other topics you could explain the science of why they happen the same way you've done here.

I actually wondered this, so happy to have an answer! I already thought myself that it has to be that it takes away heat, this explanation expands on that understanding so much more!

"Liquid water won't exist in temperatures above 100c" Pressure chamber: hold my vapor

This was just an excuse to set things on fire, wasn't it?

I just saw this for the first time (as far as I'm aware), not only almost 7 years ago (3 months from now), but well after I was already very familiar with and had watched plenty of your videos (probably mostly on nilered but I haven't counted). Thank you for explaining it.

I like this because he gives the direct answer pretty close to the beginning and then he goes for the dive. Then you have articles written where they'll write an entire page or 5, then at the end finally disclose that they don't have the answer you came to the article for.

I was actually taught this very early in my life: so at first I was confused by your intro. Then I realised I wasn’t taught this in school, and the reason I know it is probably because my dad was (is) a fireman.

In enclosed spaces like buildings and especially ships, with a fire that really has gotten going, the temperatures are so high that water flashes to steam if sprayed in a high volume mist. In this situation the steam plume displaces almost all of the oxygen locally, instantly choking the flames oxygen source. Water expands about 1600 times in volume going from liquid to gas. This is however short lived as powerful convection mixes the air again within a couple of seconds . This results in having to hunt the flames around the the room to quickly smother the flames. During all this, the air temperature is dropping due to the combined effects of oxygen depletion from the flame and the thermal capacity of water preventing re-ignition. That's why firefighters keep cooling everything. I have to add, that Nile is not wrong at all. But if a room fire is hot and intense enough, the displacement of oxygen in the room becomes a very, very useful tool. I am trained in firefighting on board ships BTW.

I was literally thinking about this a couple of days ago. Thanks :)

Thank you so much for making this actually !

I Would like to see a video about chemical fires like a magnesium fire and why it can't be extinguish with water or CO2. Maybe an explanation why ClF3 can freaking burn concreate without any ignition source. I think it can be a really interesting topic

And this also explains why it's very hard to put something wet on fire. The water has to evaporate before it can catch.

Best RU-vid video I found in a week or two. Thank you

Very nice, should be featured ibn chemistry classes. Also, would be great to see other cases where water doesn't work and why...and then present the ones that work, and why. Espeially interesting will be hot oil+water go boom

That was a better, more concise explanation of activation energy than I ever received in a chemistry class.

A bit of nitpicking: it should be "oxidizer", not "oxygen" in the "Fire triangle". Fluorine for example works much better than oxygen. Cotton + fluorine = fire even at room temperature.

That's so cool, I'm learning about exothermic reactions in school right now and recognized the graph representation! This actually made me understand it a little better.

Steamfire suppression systems were a thing before things like argon systems. They were used to suppress chemical fires in industrail settings. I recall a PSA called "Deadlier than dynamite" or something like that about the hazards of cleaning with gasoline and how chemical cleaning houses had steam fire suppression systems

This reaction is totally non productive and doesn't happen - me in my next exam

Now that the "How does water put out fire?" question has been answered, we need to get to the next one - "How does Nile's hand survive at 9:15?"

Very helpful and interesting. Thanks, mate.

Well done. This was a question i didn't even realize i needed answers. I even looked past this video at the start then realized i didn't know.

"Activation energy is the reason most things dont burst into flames when they come into contact with air" I'm struggling to believe that one casual comment has blown my mind so much. I just keep envisioning a world where activation energy (somehow) isnt required for reactions but like it had been but suddenly that changed and everything just explodes, burns, falls apart, etc. Not that we would be alive for any time at all to witness it.

I saw the video on my recommended list, and thought. "Yeah sure i know how water puts out fire." then i though about for a couple of seconds and was like. "Wait, do I?" And then i clicked.

I learned this back when I was a firefighter. We have various methods of putting out fire by removing one of the sides of the fire triangle. When we use water, we're removing the heat. On oil fires or liquid fuel fires, water does technically still remove the heat but we don't use it because what is on fire will end up floating on top of the water, which will almost certainly cause it to spread far and wide to other flammable things in the area. Firefighting foam like the kind use in cases of aircraft fires and the powder that is released in commercial kitchens in case of a fire does remove oxygen from the fire to put it out but, since this is hard to do, those fires do tend to be more dangerous. But, if you are trying to fry something in your kitchen and the oil catches on fire, just put the lid on the pan and it will go out. If you add water, you will almost certainly set much of your kitchen on fire. When we get a really big fire in the wild, we actually put it out largely by removing the fuel. This is a huge pain in the ass and it's why wildfires can get out of control so fast and burn for so long. We basically do yard work on a massive scale and cut away everything flammable around the edges of the fire until we are finally able to encircle the fire. Then, when the flames can't reach anything new to burn, they finish burning what's already on fire and the fire eventually goes out. Depending on the height of the vegetation and the strength of the winds, there is a certain width of vegetation that you have to remove from all the way around the entire fire to get it to go out. Sometimes embers fly or winds get worse etc., which makes wildfire probably the most difficult type of fire to extinguish. If you've ever wondered why you see the fire department at a location for a while after the fire is out, it's to make sure it actually is all the way out since fire can sometimes burn along roots underground and pop up later. That's usually when we use water for those fires to put out hot spots, but we also smother hot spots with dirt, depending on which crew you are on.

This was the video no one asked for but we still got it 😂 amazing vid

I actually did ask this question myself once while camping. It wasn't really a question more of an epiphany after realizing that water is a surprisingly suitable substance to combat fire. That it was infact the enemy if fire. And the enemy of making a small campfire in wet conditions. When wood burns there is actually not one simple process of combustion taking place but actually five different reactions taking place. This is how they make those super efficient wood burning stoves, by attending to each process in the design of the stove. Before anything happens the very first thing that must occur is for the section of a piece of wood that is about to burn to completely dehydrate. This is because all wood holds onto moisture even when dead. That was actually an essential function when it was alive. And as you mentioned water changes phase at 100c which is below the temperature necessary for combustion. Also water is dense and it flows, convects, and seeps and wicks so it's is a very good heat sink or heat thief. After the water has been booted by the heat of the fire or fire starter then pyrolisis happens, or decomposition. That's when the wood turns black and gives off smoke. The smoke is the fuel that is burning. Efficient fires don't smoke. Smoke is unburnt hydrocarbons. Another combustion reaction happens with carbon monoxide and oxygen to form carbon dioxide. The carbon monoxide is flammable and I believe it burns hotter. Much hotter which is why it's flame is purple. The carbon monoxide comes from another phase of the fire which is the smouldering of charcoal. The carbon in the charcoal combines with oxygen to form the carbon carbon monoxide. So: 1. Dehydration (with heat) 2. Pyrolisis (decomposition into charcoal and gaseous flammable hydrocarbons) 3. Combustion of hydrocarbons 4. Smouldering of charcoal (C + O2 = CO + O) 5. Combustion of CO (CO + O2 = CO2 + O) Forgive if I effed that up somewhere I wasn't good in chemistry in highschool. But all of these things are separate reactions that take place in every wood fire. Everytime you light a match you are looking at five distinct things happening more or less at once. This is what led me to wonder about water being the enemy of fire which your video explained perfectly. I wonder if you'd do one about what goes on in a piece of burning wood since it is the experience of presumably every living person watching this channel but if they're anything like me then I imagine few people would think there was anything much at all going on in a burning matchstick.

Fire:*bullying O2* H2O:what are you doing son

I love NileR/B, he rules. Keep up the great work!! ❤

Great presentation! Would love to see if a burning fire could be refrigerated/cooled enough to be extinguished. Performed a thought experiment while making a fire in the snow and wondered if the temperature were to drop unnaturally fast, if the fire would go out.

"we were taught since day one that oxygen is beneficial...but why?"

"From a young age, everyone is taught that water is the enemy of fire." *laughs in kitchen oil fire*

I guessed it was heat initially, but only because water can absorb a lot of heat ordinarily, and when it does the water begins to phase transition to a gas. And as I understand it that works really well for pulling away heat. And it can absorb heat generally and be drawn through closed systems that use a high surface area on the part of the system designed to cool the water after it gets in from the section of the loop cooling water ever thing is producing heat.

Finally I get the answer to this question, thanks man 💐

Great video. The water paper cup trick is awesome visual. Made me think of a California wildfire where a homeowner, before evacuating with theirs neighbors first put a sprinkler on their roof and turned on the water. Their house was saved and all the look there burned to the ground.

In the Navy we talked about the "fire tetrahedron" where there was a fourth component, the chemical reaction. This was apparently the part of the fire tetrahedron that Halon would take away to stop the fire. Not sure if it really needs to be mentioned, since the chemical reaction is exactly what fire is, but thought I would share. :)

Great explanation and fantastic video ❤ 👍👌

I know you kind of touched on it for a second and it’s probably not worth a whole video, but what makes something flammable

mundane questions answered like this is literally my favorite content from you. Thank you for answering such question!

Thank you so much! I have always been so dissatisfied at the explanation that water takes heat out of that simple diagram. Understanding it in terms of the water absorbing the energy output and preventing further activation, that makes my day!

Wood shop taught us the fire triangle back in middleschool. It taught us that certain fire extinguishers were for certain kinds of fires. And that if you have to store something that's flammable to store it in a sealed container to cut off oxygen.

Mad respect for your chemistry acumen. I really enjoy the demonstrations. I think you have missed some very key elements in putting out fires. We always use a fire tetrahedron, the same as the triangle with an uninhibited chemical reaction added. Take out any leg and the fire goes out. The main item I think you missed is the process of pyrolysis of the fuel. Fundamentally solids and liquids do not burn. They are heated to the point they give off flammable gasses which are what “burns”. Material can be heated to the point to where they flash fire but the flames are not sustained. We call this the flash point of a material. A little higher temp and we get to auto ignition where the material will combust and produces enough energy to sustain he process. Water on a fire can cool by flashing to steam will carry off the combustible gases further reducing the fire risk. Water flashing to steam expands in volume about 1700 times. As a side note some of our structural fire gear has been made of materials that will char and give off hot gases that do not react or combust ( produce an open flame) in oxygen, but they will combust in the presence of chlorine. Cool experiment, we demo it every so often at fire chemistry and hazardous material classes. Back to the original discussion. We once used liquid nitrogen, flashed to gas, percolating through 700 tons of coal in a tower to extinguish a fire. While it did cool a little the main thing was to exclude the oxygen to inhibit the smoldering combustion and carry off unburned gases while at the same time not making a huge mess from the massive amounts of water that would need to be put on that much coal. The water would also waste a lot of very expensive product and make a environmental mess! The trick was to use enough nitrogen long enough to allow the remaining coal to cool below the temperature that it will pyrolysis. In that respect the laws of thermodynamics are on our side. Provided we ensured there was not more heat added and no more ignition sources.

that’s a crispy audio quality you got there

you answered the question ive always wondered which is what exactly is fire and what happens to things once they have been on fire. thank you ver much and i hope you read this and realise that you have answered the life long question that someone has had, and i will be referring to this video at least once every 6 months until i understand it fully

Very fascinating. thank you very much for this video.

It’s something I have accepted for my 50 years on earth until clicking on this video. What a great idea and thanks for justifying my RU-vid premium subscription and for making me feel less like I have been tossing my life off in front of the new haunted fish tank. I hope you and loved ones are all well and happy this unpredictable spring day. 🇬🇧🇺🇸🕉

Cool video. In modern firefighting, pump operators will now add AFFF (Aqueous Film Forming Foam). Using a venturi, AFFF is added to water at about a 0.5% - 1% concentration for Class A fires. The goal is to lower the surface tension of the water so the water can reach more of the fuel. The AFFF left behind then "blankets" the fuel and helps to prevent re-ignition. There's other foams for other Classes of fires too used in different levels of concentration in the water. "Put the wet stuff on the red stuff"

"Water gets rid of heat." Me: **uses hot water** "you were saying?"

Your opening bit reminds me of a low budget trailer park horror film but at least you got a tripod. They don't.

Awesome explanation.

0:33 I ask several of my friends if they know and 9/10 didn't know The last one : *my goal are beyond your understanding*

'Yes, I am blow torching water.' Grabs phone: Mental health, please.

This turned out to be significantly more interesting than I was expecting

can you also make a video about more severe chemical fires or burning fat. I would really love to see how something spontaniously catches fire when getting to its flame point

As an AP chem student I'm so glad I was able to kinda understand the chart My life is complete now I literally don't know-

It doesn't take 10 minutes to say Revenge

Ok so I have not done my research yet. And I’m super late on this video. But I feel like it could be a combination of the heat and oxygen. Also wish I had enough space to explain more. But would love to see more into this with other materials such as oil and chemicals.

Nice video. I thought about these things related to fire too, and after learning more about basic chemistry it lead me to some realizations that made view the world differently. Here are some other things that we normally just don't consider: -Fire and rusting is basically the same thing. They are both oxidation reactions. The only major difference is that if the fuel gets hot enough to self-accelerate we call it fire. So as we walk around every day, just take a moment to consider that most of the world around you is slowly burning, including you (this is fine... lol) -An extension to that is that though is that anything that can oxidate can burn if it's hot enough. Steel wool is a good demo :) -When you burn wood, you are mostly burning wood-gas that is evaporating from the wood due to the heat. That is what makes the classic flame. Next time you are trying to make a fire in a cold fireplace this will help you understand wby it's so hard. If you can't make the wood hot enough to offgas then a flame will never catch, so do all you can to focus the heat at the start. The really cool part is that you can collect this gas rather than burning it directly if you control the temlerature carefully to not reach the self-ignition stage. This versatile gas can then run an engine or similar. Converting a gasoline engine to run on wood gas is actually not hard because you mosstly just need to remove parts.

Yeah, I was thinking there had to be some sort of a smothering effect (blocking oxygen) but really, that could only be true in really high amounts, like a match being plunged into water. Obviously, this is blocking oxygen access, the same as if you plunged a burning piece of wood into sand. But this doesn’t explain why wet wood can’t catch fire. In cooking, it’s well known that the water is the limiting heat factor. By being turned into steam, it ensures that a cooking item cannot get hotter than 100 °C-that is until the water is gone, at which point the Maillard reaction and/or burning can actually occur. Which is why you want to pat your meat dry before cooking it if you want that nice crust on it, and why breads develop a crust on the outside, where they have the most water loss, and thus dry out the fastest. Water being such an effective heatsink obviously makes it so much more effective beyond its ability to even smother a fire. And smothering fires tends to be really poor at putting out fires anyways. As mentioned all the heat is usually still there, so like… take away the smother, and FOOM it’s back! e.g. trick candes. Part of why I find bicarbonate so fascinating as a fire suppressant is that works as a smother similar to any other granular substance-like sand; but it also decomposes in an endothermic reaction and releases CO₂, which a) takes away heat from the reaction itself, and b) also smothers the fire further. And in the case of an oil fire, it also saponifies the oil at those high temps, taking away even the fuel… neat!

Thank you for the quick answer

What a freaking awesome video!

There is Nilered, and here we have Nileblue. Beautiful.

Very good content 👍🏻thankyoi . Can you do one on the difference between ice and water . There is a state of matter between them and i want to know the properties .🙏

I teach Science in years five and six and this is always one of my exam questions at the end of the unit.

Thanks. Very interesting.

This is the question i mever wondered until it was brought up

Awesome, I’ve never thought of this before. Really cool to understand the actual reason behind the process.

"We usually start by giving it a kickstart of activation energy." Lol I think u said the same concept three times in one sentence.

Awesome video! Can you make a follow up on why water doesn't kill oil fires and the like?

thank you so much, this really helps build a foundation for elemental education

"From a young age, everyone is taught that water is the enemy of fire." Hello burning chip pan, meet water!

Hydrogen and oxygen = flammable Hydrogen with oxygen = puts out fire 🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔

Interesting, thank you!

Great video! The onlyx thing i would have wished to see is a fire started by water. You can boild water in a flask and collect the steam and put it through a copper tube that you heat with a burner. The steam that exits the tube can reach temperatures high enough to start fires.

Nile, I don't think this question is a video topic but I still find it intriguiging. I was wondering why is there such a long time period for rust to form on metal for the first time, but when it does form it spreads really fast. I've read that rust can be used in gunpowder as a subtitude for sulphut since it has a same roll as a catalyst. I think that rust has catalytical properties which fast forward oxydation of the metal. I'm not certain about it so I would need some sort of a confirmation if correct or explaination if wrong I'm sorry if my grammar is bad, English is not my native language

You can actually use any non flammable liquid of low chemical reactivity to put out fire but water is the most common liquid of these qualities so it's almost always used to put out fires.

1:36 I believe most people think that water takes away the heat

"Everyone knows water puts out fire" - Grease fires: "Oh, you're challenging me?"

The thing I'm a little confused about is why does extremely cold liquid oxygen still allow a fire to burn rather than removing the heat and putting it out?

I was just dumbfounded trying to think of why I don't already know this.

Can’t wait for another Red video, but thanks for the new content

oils and candles are a good liquid alternative to view different effects - the right mix of heat capacity and thermal conductivity allow certain liquids to remain self sustaining on the substrate (ie candles).

The reaction of H2O with O2 could, in theory, happen and result in the formation of H2O2. 2 H2O + O2 -> 2 HOOH. The reason that this does not happen is because the products of that reaction would have a higher total bond energy than the sum of the total bond energy of the substrates. Which is why concentrated HOOH solutions tend to have the HOOH decompose into H2O and O2.

My favorite description of "Why is water not flammable?" is "Because, in a way, it has already burned."

I remember in boyscouts we would boil water in a plastic bottle to showcase this. The air filled portion of the bottle quickly burned away but the part with water remained as long as there was water within.

Amazing video!!!!

Magnesium: Hold my beer. Chlorine Trifluoride: Heh heh.

After watching this video, a question popped into my head: If we manipulate atmospheric pressure so that water starts to boil at above 150C, will we be able to get water to a boiling point and then ignite the wood under the fire?

Quite informative.

water probably also suffocates the fire too in many circumstances (i.e. submerging the entire fire inside water)