What is a combustion reaction?

Combustion or burning is the sequence of exothermic chemical reactions between a fuel and an oxidant.

There is a production of heat and conversion of chemical species in this reaction. The release of heat can produce light in the form of either glowing or a flame.

Consider the combustion of methane:

##CH_4## + ##2O_2##--> ##CO_2## + ##2H_2O##

Below, you can see conversion of chemical species:

Here is a production of flame: All of these flames occur by the Methane ##CH_4##:

Here is a video which shows the combustion of sugar. The reaction goes much more rapidly than normal because it is aided by the use of potassium chlorate (an oxidizing agent used in fireworks). Video from: Noel Pauller