Burn rate (chemistry)

Burn rate is how fast things burn. Imagine you're roasting marshmallows over a campfire. The burn rate is how fast the marshmallow turns brown and gooey. It can be fast or slow depending on how big the fire is, how much air is blowing on it, and what kind of marshmallow you have.


In chemistry, we use burn rate to talk about how fast something is burning. When things burn, they react with oxygen in the air and release energy. This is called combustion. The rate at which combustion happens can be affected by a lot of things, like temperature, pressure, and the type of material that's burning.


For example, gasoline burns very fast because it's a very flammable liquid. It reacts quickly with oxygen in the air and releases a lot of energy. Wood, on the other hand, burns more slowly because it's a solid that needs to be heated up before it can react with oxygen.


Scientists use burn rate to study how different materials burn and to make things like fireworks, rocket fuel, and other explosives. They can measure the burn rate of a substance by setting it on fire and recording how fast it burns under different conditions. This can help them understand how a material will behave in different situations and make it safer to use.