... on the element of fire

It gave humans the first form of portable light and heat. It also gave us the ability to cook food. There are few things that have done as much harm to humanity as fire, and few things that have done as much good. It is certainly one of the most important ­forces in human history.

The ancient Greeks considered fire one of the major elements in the universe, alongside water, earth and air. This grouping makes intuitive sense: You can feel fire, just like you can feel earth, water and air. You can also see it and smell it, and you can move it from place to place.

But fire is really something completely different. Earth, water and air are all forms of matter -- they are made up of millions and millions of atoms collected together. Fire isn't matter at all. It's a visible, tangible side effect of matter changing form -- its one part of a chemical reaction.

What is Fire?

Typically, fire comes from a chemical reaction between oxygen in the atmosphere and some sort of fuel. The dangerous thing about the chemical reactions in fire is the fact that they are self-perpetuating. The heat of the flame itself keeps the fuel at the ignition temperature, so it continues to burn as long as there is fuel and oxygen around it. The flame heats any surrounding fuel so it releases gases as well. When the flame ignites the gases, the fire spreads.

On Earth, gravity determines how the flame burns. All the hot gases in the flame are much hotter (and less dense) than the surrounding air, so they move upward toward lower pressure. This is why fire typically spreads upward, and it's also why flames are always "pointed" at the top. If you were to light a fire in a microgravity environment, say onboard the space shuttle, it would form a sphere!

Cake flour burn

White flour is made up mostly of starch. If you have read the article “How Food Works”, you know that starch is a carbohydrate, meaning that it is made of sugar molecules chained together. Anyone who has ever lit a marshmallow on fire knows that sugar burns easily. So does flour.

Flour and many other carbohydrates become explosive when they are hanging in the air as dust. It only takes 50 grams per cubic meter for the mixture to be ignitable. Flour grains are so tiny that they burn instantly. When one grain burns, it lights other grains near it, and the flame front can flash through a dust cloud with explosive force. Just about any carbohydrate dust, including sugar, pudding mix, fine sawdust, etc., will explode once ignited.

Fire Opal

“Stone of the Bird of Paradise”

A powerful gemstone with a vivacious colour (doesn’t it sound sexy! Like it has been forged by angels in the morning sun!)

They were already admired as symbols of the most fervent love in ancient times, in India and in the ancient Persian kingdom. The Mayas and Aztecs loved this gemstone and liked to use it in mosaics and for ritualistic purposes.

Even those who prefer not to subscribe to the energies in gemstones and the forces which emanate from them will undoubtedly get a feeling of warmth and well-being when they look at a fire opal. In gemstone therapy, opals are generally regarded as gems which people choose intuitively when they are working on a particular aspect of their personality. Seen like this, the fire opal is a good means of helping to make feelings flow and resolve blockages. Connoisseurs say that fire opals bestow courage, stamina, will-power and energy on the wearer. Thanks to their force they disperse old, long outdated ways of thinking and make room for new ones. The warm, fiery orange-red has a positive effect on the psyche and conveys a profound sensation of warmth, peace and harmony. The fire opal is the lucky stone of those born under the sign Aries.

Fire Opal loves to be worn a lot, since this enables it to maintain its water balance, using the moisture of the wearer's skin and that of the air. A gemstone for people with a positive approach to life.

Their warm, fiery colour gives us vigour, fills us with the joys of life and opens our senses to the beauty of Nature. 

After all, fire opals are themselves a piece of Nature in its most beautiful form.