What is A Flame
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0:04 - 0:07Uhm, excuse me.
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0:07 - 0:09Pardon me.
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0:09 - 0:11No, no no. Not up there.
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0:11 - 0:13I'm down here.
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0:13 - 0:15Yup.
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0:15 - 0:16Hello!
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0:16 - 0:18I am a scientist,
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0:18 - 0:21and I've come to improve
your situation just a bit. -
0:21 - 0:23See that fire over there?
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0:25 - 0:29Have you ever really wondered
what the flames are, from that fire? -
0:29 - 0:31I mean look at all of those colors.
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0:31 - 0:33And you feel that heat. It's hot, right?
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0:33 - 0:36Well gee, it must be torture
being around all these flames -
0:36 - 0:38and not knowing what they are.
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0:38 - 0:40Here, take a look at this cupcake.
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0:40 - 0:43You see a flame
on top of this delicious looking cupcake? -
0:43 - 0:44You do like cupcakes, don't you?
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0:44 - 0:46Let's take a closer look, shall we?
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0:46 - 0:48Fantastic!
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0:48 - 0:51If we look at the flame
on top of this cupcake, -
0:51 - 0:53we first notice a few things,
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0:53 - 0:54like all the colors.
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0:54 - 0:58At the bottom,
we have this blueish color. -
0:58 - 1:01On the top,
it's more yellow, orange and reddish. -
1:01 - 1:03Also, the flame is hot.
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1:03 - 1:05Why is it so flaming hot?
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1:05 - 1:09Well, to answer these questions,
you need to know something very important. -
1:09 - 1:12You see, everything is made up
of tiny things called atoms. -
1:12 - 1:15And these things are the building blocks
that make up everything! -
1:15 - 1:17And they're really small.
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1:18 - 1:19Smaller.
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1:19 - 1:20Smaller!
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1:20 - 1:22Even smaller!
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1:22 - 1:24Hey, look, you can't even see them,
they're so small. -
1:25 - 1:26Exactly!
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1:27 - 1:29Anything you can think of
is made up of atoms. -
1:30 - 1:33Yup, this air conditioner
is made up of atoms. -
1:34 - 1:37This delicious popsicle
is made up of atoms. -
1:37 - 1:39This ice water is made up of atoms.
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1:39 - 1:43Everything is made up
of billions and billions of atoms. -
1:43 - 1:47Now, this candle and flame are made up
of three kinds of atoms: -
1:47 - 1:50carbon, hydrogen and oxygen.
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1:50 - 1:52The carbon
and the hydrogen are locked together -
1:52 - 1:54to form the solid wax and wick.
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1:54 - 1:57The oxygen is a gas all around us.
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1:58 - 2:01Normally,
the oxygen doesn't do much to the candle -
2:01 - 2:05It just bounces off of the surface,
not doing any real damage. -
2:05 - 2:09But when we add heat,
the oxygen atoms go bananas! -
2:09 - 2:11And they shake the wax, like crazy!
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2:11 - 2:15Until finally,
with enough force, they snap apart. -
2:15 - 2:18They leave the candle as a gas,
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2:18 - 2:19where they mix with the oxygen.
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2:19 - 2:21Uh-oh, I smell trouble.
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2:21 - 2:26Well, the fancy science word
for all of this is -
2:26 - 2:27pyrolysis.
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2:27 - 2:30It is the first thing
that needs to happen to get a flame. -
2:30 - 2:32It's when the fuel turns to a gas.
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2:33 - 2:36Now, let's see what happens
when these hot gasses combine. -
2:36 - 2:39(Announcer) Ladies and gentlemen,
in this corner, -
2:39 - 2:41he was once a solid, now he's a gas!
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2:41 - 2:44He's the fuel from the West!
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2:44 - 2:48And in this corner,
not one, but two groups of oxygen -
2:48 - 2:49Ready?
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2:49 - 2:51React!
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2:51 - 2:55Any time certain atoms get hit
hard enough, -
2:55 - 2:57they spit out blue light.
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2:58 - 3:00And because there are lots of atoms
getting hit hard -
3:00 - 3:03and lots of atoms spitting out blue light,
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3:03 - 3:06we get a blue flame.
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3:06 - 3:09Here comes another science word. Ready?
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3:09 - 3:10Chemiluminescence.
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3:10 - 3:13I know, it's a big one. One more time.
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3:13 - 3:14Chemiluminescence.
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3:14 - 3:16It's when atoms shine light
when they rearrange. -
3:16 - 3:19It's why flames are blue.
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3:19 - 3:22Now, the blue light is not hot.
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3:22 - 3:23Wait!
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3:23 - 3:26But the blue flame is really hot!
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3:26 - 3:28So if the blue light is not the hot part,
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3:28 - 3:31then what does make a flame so hot?
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3:31 - 3:33Well, remember our fuel atoms,
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3:33 - 3:35and our oxygen atoms?
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3:35 - 3:37They rearranged
to make new stuff, -
3:37 - 3:39like water and carbon dioxide.
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3:39 - 3:42And as they rearrange,
they snap together. -
3:42 - 3:43And with each...
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3:43 - 3:44(snapping sound)
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3:44 - 3:46the new thing shakes like crazy!
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3:46 - 3:48So when the rearranging is done,
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3:48 - 3:50we have lots of new stuff,
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3:50 - 3:52all shaking really fast!
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3:52 - 3:55If we put something close
to those raging atoms, -
3:55 - 3:57those atoms begin to shake
like crazy, too, -
3:57 - 3:59like the atoms in our fingers,
and that's heat. -
4:00 - 4:03This is called oxidation.
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4:03 - 4:07It's when the oxygen atoms combine
with other atoms to make new stuff. -
4:07 - 4:10It's why flames are so hot.
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4:10 - 4:11All right then,
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4:11 - 4:13why are most flames
yellow, orange and red? -
4:13 - 4:15Well, remember our first reaction?
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4:15 - 4:19We had one group of fuel atoms
and two groups of oxygen. -
4:19 - 4:21They made a flame that was very hot
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4:21 - 4:23and only blue.
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4:23 - 4:25But watch what happens
if there's not enough oxygen -
4:25 - 4:27and we take some away.
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4:27 - 4:28(Announcer) Ladies and gentlemen,
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4:28 - 4:31what happens
when there's not enough oxygen? -
4:33 - 4:33(audience gasp)
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4:33 - 4:37What's this?
A single carbon atom left all alone? -
4:37 - 4:41It's okay, because all of his left-over
carbon friends come to join him, -
4:41 - 4:44and they form large, black particles
we call soot. -
4:44 - 4:45Okay, they're not so large.
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4:45 - 4:47They're so small
we can't even see them. -
4:47 - 4:50But to a single atom,
they are enormous! -
4:50 - 4:52(Announcer) Enormous!
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4:52 - 4:54I know what you're thinking.
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4:54 - 4:57How do black particles make yellow flames?
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4:57 - 4:58Well, let me show you.
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4:58 - 5:00But first,
I need something big and black, -
5:00 - 5:02like this pitch fork, for example.
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5:02 - 5:03Excuse me, Sir, Your Evilness,
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5:03 - 5:06could you please place your pitch fork
in those scorching flames? -
5:06 - 5:07Thank you.
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5:07 - 5:11Big black objects are like sponges
that soak up heat! -
5:11 - 5:12They have to get rid of this energy,
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5:12 - 5:15so they spit it out by glowing!
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5:15 - 5:18The hotter they get,
the more brightly they glow! -
5:18 - 5:21Now, the same thing happens
with our soot particles. -
5:21 - 5:23They drink in heat
from all of those hot atoms. -
5:23 - 5:25And they glow brighter
and brighter, -
5:25 - 5:27until they look like this!
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5:27 - 5:30And because there are millions
and millions of soot particles, -
5:30 - 5:32all glowing hot,
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5:32 - 5:34we get this yellow flame.
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5:34 - 5:36This is called incandescence.
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5:36 - 5:39It's when the soot particles glow
because they're hot. -
5:39 - 5:41It's the reason why flames are yellow.
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5:41 - 5:43Well, that's it. That's what flames are.
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5:43 - 5:46I mean, who knew
cupcakes could be so much fun? -
5:46 - 5:50Remember, first, the fuel loses mass
and turns into a gas. -
5:50 - 5:53Before the next change is through,
atoms shine blue. -
5:53 - 5:56When the process is complete,
it gives off heat. -
5:56 - 5:59Extra carbon will grow red,
orange and yellow. -
5:59 - 6:01Hey, those are just like the lyrics
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6:01 - 6:04from that really awesome song
about flames. -
6:04 - 6:06You know, the one that goes:
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6:06 - 6:08♪ The fuel loses mass. ♪
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6:08 - 6:09♪ It turns to gas. ♪
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6:09 - 6:12♪ Before the next change is through, ♪
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6:12 - 6:14♪ some atoms shine blue. ♪
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6:14 - 6:16♪ When the process is complete, ♪
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6:16 - 6:18♪ it gives off heat. ♪
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6:18 - 6:20♪ Extra carbon will glow ♪
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6:20 - 6:22♪ red, orange, yellow. ♪
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6:22 - 6:24♪ The fuel loses mass. ♪
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6:24 - 6:25♪ It turns to a gas. ♪
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6:25 - 6:28♪ Before the next change is through, ♪
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6:28 - 6:30♪ some atoms turn blue. ♪
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6:30 - 6:32♪ When the process is complete, ♪
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6:32 - 6:34♪ it gives off heat. ♪
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6:34 - 6:36♪ Extra carbon will glow ♪
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6:36 - 6:38♪ red, orange, yellow. ♪
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6:38 - 6:40(chorus repeats)
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6:40 - 6:43(vocal backing: Pyrolysis)
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6:43 - 6:46(Chemiluminescence)
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6:47 - 6:50(Oxidation)
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6:51 - 6:54(Incandescence)
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6:55 - 7:15(repeat)
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7:15 - 7:19(song finishes)
- Title:
- What is A Flame
- Description:
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Although this Flame Challenge entry was first submitted on Vimeo, this goes out to all the YouTube viewers out there. Thanks to Alan Alda and The Center for Communicating Science for creating such an educational and creative venue!
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- Volunteer
- Duration:
- 07:31
Febrina H. Ariendhita edited English subtitles for What is a Flame | ||
gustavo.goretkin edited English subtitles for What is a Flame | ||
2playerproductions edited English subtitles for What is a Flame | ||
Giorgos Papalexiou edited English subtitles for What is a Flame | ||
gustavo.goretkin added a translation |