The Fascinating Reason Why Water Does Not Burn

Water does not burn. Why am I making such a fuss about such a simple phenomenon (or lack thereof)? Before you think of me as someone crazy, let me explain. Sure, it is common knowledge that water does not burn. But for the love of humanity, and the science of chemistry, WHY? WHY does water not burn?!

The answer to that question is NOT common knowledge. When I asked myself the question, I did NOT have a comprehensive answer. I was just fooling myself into thinking that I knew, while my explanation was vague at best.

 I knew very well that water is incombustible. In fact, water is likely the first thing that comes to our mind when we combat fire. Like any substance, water should be able to burn. Yet, it does not. I decided to do my own research to make myself more educated. While I’m at it, I might as well share it with the world. In this article, I try to answer this question in the simplest manner possible, such that no one needs to be scared of the chemical complexity involved.

This essay is supported by Generatebg

Is This a Stupid Question to Ask?

While I was researching this topic, I came across an interesting phenomenon. The so-called ‘Experts’ often rolled their eyes over when they were asked ‘elementary’ sounding questions. While every human being is entitled to their opinions, I find this kind of behaviour in very poor taste.

We at The Walking Temple believe that there is no such thing as a stupid question. Some of the most elementary questions turn out to be the hardest, regardless of the field. I find it remarkable how time and again, I come across established professionals and ‘experts’ who have shaky fundamentals.

My intention is not to shame anyone, including people with shaky fundamentals. But people who accept their mistakes and lack of knowledge (which includes all of us) tend to learn faster and contribute more productively to society. Curiosity is what drives us. And curious questions need to be encouraged, not discouraged. Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s move on to answering our actual question.

The Short Answer to Why Water Does Not Burn

The shortest version of the answer is: Water is already burnt. If you think about it, water is actually one of the byproducts of the typical burning process. Whether we burn coal, or we burn fuel for transportation, the main byproducts are water and carbon dioxide.

With coal as well as fuel, the source material is composed of hydrocarbons. The burning process induces something called oxidization of the hydrogen in the hydrocarbons. Oxidized hydrogen ends up as water. Water is inert, stable, and is almost inflammable.

It can be compared to ash that results after burning coal (one of the other byproducts). Of course, ash is significantly less flammable than coal. Similarly, water is significantly less flammable than in its previous form of a fresh mix of oxygen and hydrogen.

How to Burn Water?

Ha! You might have thought it was impossible. Chemistry comes to our rescue when we try to burn water. If you torch water in the presence of fluorine gas, it burns. Yes! IT BURNS! Or if there is a lesser dense hydrocarbon present in the water, it burns as well. In both cases, there is contamination involved, and burning results in a more stable combination than the combination of water and the contaminant. If you want to visually enjoy water burning, check out this awesome demonstration video below by FlinnScientific.

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Further reading that might interest you: How to Make Drinkable Water From Air? and Is Technology Dependency Really a Concern?