Oystein
Penultimate Amazing
- Joined
- Dec 9, 2009
- Messages
- 18,903
Correct
Incorrect.
Insulation does not effect the temperature of the fire, that is controlled by the amount of oxygen. Insulation just retains the heat.
ETA: Please show a reliable source that says "insulation will increase the temperature of a "fire" [not the surrounding materials] or stop claiming that it does.

Temperature of the surrounding materials (steel beams) is what we are really talking about. Don't erect a strawman.
Don't mistake heat for temperature
And don't mistake fire for flame.
Temperature of a flame is, by the way, an emergent phenomenon of heat production minus heat loss. A flame loses heat quicker in some environments and faster in others.
Generally, in thermodynamics, if the receiving system is already hot, heat transfer will be slower.
A candle that burns at room temperature may have a flame that is 1000°C hot at its core.
The same candle burning in a room that is already 1000°C hot, all other things being equal, will have a flame that is much hotter (assuming of course we have magix wax that does not melt any faster...). Such high environment temps can be more easily achieved with insulation, right? So yes, insulation can increase flame temperature.
(No, I don't have a source yet. This needs no source, as it is readily understandable to anyone with a basic grasp of thermodynamics. It's like saying a pitcher can pitch a faster ball if he stands on a moving train than if he stands on the ground. I might not have a source for that, as maybe no one ever document a baseball game played on a train, but I'd expect you to understand it on basic physical principles)
ETA: Do you think a candle burning in a room that is 1200°C hot would cool the room by releasing gases that are only 1000°C???
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