ABSTRACT
The birth, growth, decay, and even ultimate death of many civilizations can be described in terms of their specific cultural understanding and application of the principles of combustion. For example, in both primitive and ancient cultures, fire was a mystery to be feared and therefore often worshiped. In such circumstances, the control of fire often provided certain groups with power either to improve or to destroy human existence. This mystical belief concerning the nature of fire, or more precisely the combustion process that caused it, was forever changed when Empedocles (ca. 490-430 B.C.) postulated his famous belief that fire was but one of four constituent elements of all matter: earth, air, fire, and water.
