[Stoves] Fuel Testing

[AJH]

On Fri, 6 Oct 2006 21:28:47 -0700, frank at compostlab.com wrote:

>What exactly is Steam?

Steam is the gaseous form of water, it is invisible, below it's
critical temperature (around 700C) it is a vapour, this means if you
apply enough pressure it will stay as water under this temperature.

The "steam" we see coming from a pot is a sol, as are clouds, small
droplets of water that have condensed from steam to become visible
particles suspended in air.


> and will a fire
>solely be supported using 100% steam with no other air source? 

Well as long as Kevin, Paul and others don't delve into the semantics
of "fire" beyond that it is the oxidation of a fuel giving off heat
(exothermic) then the answer is no. Steam is already oxidised hydrogen
and hydrogen is one of the fuel components of wood so there is no
further energy to be exploited by passing it into the fire. Steam can
be reduced back to hydrogen in a fire but it has the opposite effect
on the heat as energy is taken from the fire to do it (endothermic).

AJH