Why does wood crackle

It seems like long pieces of wood help make tall flames! It can be a pretty relaxing sound, Isabelle! We always enjoy watching the flames of a campfire dance around too! We are undergoing some spring clearing site maintenance and need to temporarily disable the commenting feature. Thanks for your patience. Drag a word to its definition. You have answered 0 of 3 questions correctly and your score is:.

Want to add a little wonder to your website? Help spread the wonder of families learning together. We sent you SMS, for complete subscription please reply. Follow Twitter Instagram Facebook. Why does wood crackle when it burns? Why does wood burn? What chemical reactions take place when wood burns?

Tags: See All Tags burn , chemistry , fire , flame , science , wood. Wonder What's Next? Tomorrow's Wonder of the Day is brand new…and really, really old! Be sure to check out the following activities with a friend or family member: There's no better way to learn even more about how wood crackles when it burns than to build your very own fire! You'll need the help of an adult friend or family member. You'll need some wood and tools to start a fire.

You can start a fire in your fireplace at home, if you have one, or you could use an outdoor fire pit, too. Follow your supervising adult's directions carefully as you help to build a fire. Once you have a fire going, sit back and enjoy it. Can you hear the wood crackle and pop? Explain to your friends and family members what's going on! You know one of the best things about a fire?

It produces heat! What can you do with that heat? One of our favorite things to do with heat from a fire is to cook hot dogs and roast marshmallows. So once you get your fire going, grab some hot dogs and marshmallows and enjoy the best benefits of your fire! Want to test out what you learned today? After you get a good fire going, try out different types of wood in the fire. Compare dry wood to a piece of wood you've soaked in water for several minutes.

What differences do you see in the way the two types of wood burn? Does one make more crackling and popping sounds than the other? Why is that? Have fun explaining these different reactions to a friend or family member.

Did you get it? Test your knowledge. What are you wondering? Wonder Words fire steam sap smoke fuel ash raging tingle distinct decompose char vaporize kayaking spontaneous ignition combustion cellulose volatile Take the Wonder Word Challenge. Join the Discussion. Wonder Friend Mar 28, Apr 5, Sep 23, Howdy, john! Lilly Claire Lewis Apr 28, I like this topic but why doesn't wood turn into charcoal? Wonderopolis Apr 28, I found this fascinating that fire crackles based on a certain substance!

With Christmas coming around, I certainly like to set fires around the neighborhood, OOPS I meant fires in the safe area of a fireplace. Four candy canes for you Wonderopolis, you go Wonderopolis. Wonderopolis Nov 26, Wonderopolis Nov 25, Find out more about seasoned firewood in another one of our articles here. For reduced popping and crackling noises you may also want to look at burning kiln dried firewood. Learn more about kiln dried firewood here. How efficiently a fire is burning can also have an impact of whether your fires are producing pops and crackles.

Properly seasoned firewood low in moisture content will help a fire to burn efficiently, but the airflow to and from the fire can also have an effect on how well a fire burns. A fire needs a constant supply of fresh air to keep burning. You may find that hotter burning fires can produce more popping and crackling noises because the wood can be combusted and gases created at a faster rate, giving more opportunity for these gases to get trapped and force their way out with a pop and crackle.

Sufficient air supply is an important aspect of any fire and so ensure that you either have an air vent or window open in the room if your fires are struggling. While fresh oxygen is required to keep your fires burning hot, waste gases also need to be removed from the fire at the same rate. For more information we have guide to improving the draft on your fireplace right here. Seasoned firewood is the perfect choice of firewood for hearing the most amount of pops and crackles from your fires.

Properly seasoned firewood will typically have retained enough moisture for steam to escape and produce popping and crackling sounds. At this moisture level firewood is dry enough to catch fire and burn without any issues, but also not too dry that it would burn too quickly to be an efficient source of heat.

This amount of moisture in seasoned firewood helps to keep the logs burning for a reasonable amount of time, but it also enough moisture retained that it can provide a greater opportunity for the firewood to produce pops and crackles. To reduce the amount of pops and crackles from your fires look to burn kiln dried firewood that is very low in moisture content.

The typically reduced amount of moisture within kiln dried wood compared to seasoned firewood can lead to more infrequent popping and crackling noises from fires. Due to the humidity of the atmosphere kiln dried firewood can be able to reach lower moisture content levels compared to when seasoning firewood outside through air drying.

Firewood can only be seasoned down to a certain moisture level depending on the humidity of the air around it. As the temperature rises, the gas quickly expands and puts pressure on the cell walls that haven't yet sublimated. The combination of expanding gas and weakening cellulose eventually ruptures the cell walls and allows the gas to escape in a mini explosion, which produces the familiar cracking and popping sounds associated with a wood fire.

The structure of a typical log isn't uniform. It may have a knot or a void. When combustion gases collect in one of these spaces, they may build up enough pressure to cause a larger-than-normal explosion that can hurl wood debris a distance away from the fire. For this reason, it's a good idea to protect a fire in your fireplace with a metal mesh screen and to keep a safe distance from bonfires and campfires.

Chris Deziel holds a Bachelor's degree in physics and a Master's degree in Humanities, He has taught science, math and English at the university level, both in his native Canada and in Japan. He began writing online in , offering information in scientific, cultural and practical topics. His writing covers science, math and home improvement and design, as well as religion and the oriental healing arts.

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