Can something non directly exposed to fire start burning?

[Brodino]

It's 3 am in the morning and i'm asking myself: if we were to put a wood plank into an ipotetic electric oven that could reach infinite C°, would the wood catch fire or melt into a blob of atoms?

[mathematic]

As long as there is Oxygen around it will catch fire, once it is hot enough.  On a hot sunny day, you could start a fire with paper and a magnifying glass.

Edited May 17, 2020 by mathematic

[qidran]

Wood is not like most cases. When wood is heated, the water boils away first and then the lignin and will react with oxygen and burn. Basically, wood will oxidize before it would be able to melt.  Its physical structure is destroyed and it won’t be able to return to its original matter.

[DrP]

On 5/17/2020 at 2:39 AM, Brodino said:

It's 3 am in the morning and i'm asking myself: if we were to put a wood plank into an ipotetic electric oven that could reach infinite C°, would the wood catch fire or melt into a blob of atoms?

Look up 'auto ignition' temperature...  as mathematic suggested above, if it's combustible and there is oxygen then most materials have a temperature at which they ignite.

[Jack Jectivus]

On 5/16/2020 at 8:39 PM, Brodino said:

It's 3 am in the morning and i'm asking myself: if we were to put a wood plank into an ipotetic electric oven that could reach infinite C°, would the wood catch fire or melt into a blob of atoms?

If a flammable mass is exposed to a heat equal to or greater than its flash point, assuming that the stoichiometry is correct, it will burn. Even if there's no flame, as long as it's heated to a high enough temperature, it will burn. It would break down into ash and smoke first, then those will become plasma as they're heated up more.

[sethoflagos]

If fire can only be initiated by an earlier fire, how did the first fire start?

[Endy0816]

Here's a good demonstration of a fire piston. A very cool bit of ancient technology.

 

Edited July 3, 2020 by Endy0816

[watchingfromafar]

If your home is near a forest that could burn your home down; there is a solution-----

Have a sprinkler system installed along your roof top. When a fire approaches your home, activate the sprinkler system which will cover your roof with water preventing it from catching on fire.

Just a friendly suggestion

(:-

[John Cuthber]

On 6/1/2020 at 3:21 AM, Jack Jectivus said:

If a flammable mass is exposed to a heat equal to or greater than its flash point

No it won't.
That's not what a flash point means.

[Brahms]

2 hours ago, watchingfromafar said:

If your home is near a forest that could burn your home down; there is a solution-----

Have a sprinkler system installed along your roof top. When a fire approaches your home, activate the sprinkler system which will cover your roof with water preventing it from catching on fire.

Just a friendly suggestion

(:-

This has been tried and pretty much failed which does not prevent scammers from selling rooftop sprinklers.  Also do not expect much water pressure during the fire because everyone including the fire dept is using so one would need their own supply of several Olympic size pools or so for a small home.  If you monitor this have a bomb shelter with Oxygen to run into as the fire rages over head

[John Cuthber]

"Can something non directly exposed to fire start burning?"

Yes.
It is referred to as "non piloted ignition"
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GOVPUB-C13-2aca434d0a907ff2aff50e4308d18e98/pdf/GOVPUB-C13-2aca434d0a907ff2aff50e4308d18e98.pdf

 

16 hours ago, watchingfromafar said:

If your home is near a forest that could burn your home down; there is a solution-----

Make sure the house is surrounded by a wide lawn.

 

Edited August 16, 2020 by John Cuthber

[HallsofIvy]

The fact that you posted this question at "3 A.M in the morning" means you need to go to sleep!