Editing Fire (section)

==== Productive use for energy ====
[[File:ChineseCoalPower.jpg|thumb|A [[Fossil fuel power plant|coal-fired power station]] in China]]
Burning [[fuel]] converts chemical energy into heat energy; [[wood]] has been used as fuel since [[prehistory]].<ref>{{cite book | title=Science for All Americans | first1=F. James | last1=Rutherford | first2=Andrew | last2=Ahlgren | year=1991 | pages=114–118 | publisher=Oxford University Press | isbn=9780195361865 | url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Science_for_All_Americans/LKadiKAUljEC?gbpv=1&pg=PA114 }}</ref> The [[International Energy Agency]] states that nearly 80% of the world's power has consistently come from [[fossil fuel]]s such as [[petroleum]], [[natural gas]], and [[coal]] in the past decades.<ref>{{cite web | date=October 2022 | url=https://www.iea.org/reports/world-energy-outlook-2022 | title=World Energy Outlook 2022 | publisher=IEA | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221027232322/https://www.iea.org/reports/world-energy-outlook-2022 | archive-date=2022-10-27 }}</ref> The fire in a [[power station]] is used to heat water, creating steam that drives [[turbine]]s. The turbines then spin an [[electric generator]] to produce electricity.<ref>{{Cite web |title=How electricity is generated |url=https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/electricity/how-electricity-is-generated.php |access-date=2023-11-02 |website=U.S. Energy Information Administration }}</ref> Fire is also used to provide [[work (physics)|mechanical work]] directly by [[thermal expansion]], in both [[external combustion engine|external]] and [[internal combustion engine]]s.<ref>{{cite journal | title=Development of external combustion engine | journal=American Journal of Vehicle Design | last1=Maamri | first1=R. | last2=Dyatshenko | first2=W. G. | last3=Varonkov | first3=A. I. | last4=Linkov | first4=O. U. | last5=Nikitenko | first5=Y. N. | last6=Dubé | first6=Y. | last7=Toubal | first7=L. | last8=Kodjo | first8=A. | year=2013 | volume=1 | issue=2 | pages=25–29 | doi=10.12691/ajvd-1-2-2 }}</ref>

The [[Burn|unburnable]] solid remains of a combustible material left after a fire is called ''clinker'' if its [[melting point]] is below the flame temperature, so that it fuses and then solidifies as it cools, and ''ash'' if its melting point is above the flame temperature.<ref>{{cite web |title=Clinker Formation in Biomass Boiler: What Is It and How To Prevent It |url=https://azwood.co.nz/articles/clinker-formation-in-biomass-boiler-what-is-it-and-how-to-prevent-it |publisher=Azwood |accessdate=2025-05-02}}</ref>