The Science of Fire

Long before humans invented art, language, or tax evasion, there was fire - flashy, dangerous, endlessly photogenic, and impossible to ignore. Fire didn't just change our world; it created it. It cooked our food, forged our tools, powered our engines, and occasionally burned down the kitchens of history. Without fire, civilization would still be sitting in the dark, eating cold mammoth tartare and pretending flint is interesting.

But for all its brilliance, fire remains a mystery wrapped in a glowstick. It's not a thing you can hold, a liquid you can pour, or a solid you can count. It's chemistry doing performance art - the visible tantrum of excited atoms releasing energy because they can't contain themselves. Fire is what happens when matter decides to audition for light.