What are the different zones of luminous and non-luminous flame?

Question

anonymous · Answer

Ah now this IS an area of expertise of mine, there is so much I could tell you but I'll try to simplify it and make it brief.  If you want to know more about something specifically, ask a specific question.  :-)

First some assumptions about what you are asking:
$\huge\cdot$ You're working with type A or B fires only
$\huge\cdot$ You're working with open air, not a compartment fire
$\huge\cdot$ You're working with a diffusion flame, not premixed

Some notes about fire that most people don't know
$\huge\cdot$ Fire is a rapid exothermic chemical reaction producing light & heat in varying intesities
$\huge\cdot$ Fire is refers to the whole system of the reaction, flame refers to the reaction surface, particularly the visible part
$\huge\cdot$ Fire is hollow, and forms a fluid-like surface of reaction that deforms with turbulence.  The reaction occurs on flame sheets
$\huge\cdot$ Fire is typically limited by the amount of oxidizer (typically oxygen) that can diffuse in.  Explosives on the other hand have oxygen already ready in the fuel's molecule itself, so they can react insanely faster.
$\huge\cdot$ Fire rises due to buoyancy, which is an effect of changes in density interacting with gravity

Classic diffusion flame example (candle)
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DISCLAIMER:  In the real world these steps don't occur distinctly, they are kind of gradually blended in from one to the next.  Clearly definable, but blended at their edges.