ABSTRACT
The term combustion is applicable to many phenomena: afterglows, cool flames, flash photolysis, fireballs, fuel cells, as well as the more traditional concept of the stationary flame. All are characterized by the emission of energy and (usually) light resulting from chemical reaction between a fuel and an oxidant*. The physical and chemical properties of any flame are greatly dependent on the exact conditions of combustion: gas flow may be turbulent or laminar; fuel and oxidant may or may not be premixed to some extent prior to burning; variations in temperature and pressure can have a large effect.
