# Why does water put fire out? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 27, 2016, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-water-put-fire-out/755776 "2016-05-27T00:38:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2016, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-water-put-fire-out/755776/21 "2016-05-27T22:16:33Z")
> [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > What difference, if any, is there between burning and corrosion except the timeframe? Very little although the word corrosion can imply things other than oxidation. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2016, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-water-put-fire-out/755776/22 "2016-05-27T22:44:15Z")
> [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > Does this imply that hydrogen + fluorine compounds would be about as unstable/corrosive/toxic/exothermic as compounds can be? It does mean that the reaction between hydrogen and fluorine is… interesting. [http://io9.gizmodo.com/an-explosion-that-shows-why-fluorine-is-the-tiger-of-c-1516351149](http://io9.gizmodo.com/an-explosion-that-shows-why-fluorine-is-the-tiger-of-c-1516351149) But if elements are highly reactive, then their post-reaction compounds as a broad generalization will tend to be more _stable_. Fluoride for your teeth is a complicated story, but the stability of the incorporated fluoride mineral is essential. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2016, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-water-put-fire-out/755776/23 "2016-05-28T00:09:41Z")
> [@bardos](#): > > I have a strange perspective on fire. I have always viewed fire as some sort of living organic being, trying to survive at all costs, just like any human being or animal would. Very fierce in its survival mechanism. Maybe life is how fire found a great new way to survive. Living things are all about collecting and using energy after all. We’re all burning in a sense. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2016, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-water-put-fire-out/755776/24 "2016-05-28T00:16:25Z")
> [@bardos](#): > > I have a strange perspective on fire. I have always viewed fire as some sort of living organic being, trying to survive at all costs, just like any human being or animal would. Very fierce in its survival mechanism. The Master speaks: > **[Why don’t we consider fire alive? What is life?](https://www.straightdope.com/21342414/why-don-t-we-consider-fire-alive-what-is-life)** ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2016, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-water-put-fire-out/755776/25 "2016-05-29T03:57:55Z")
> [@bardos](#): > > I have a strange perspective on fire. I have always viewed fire as some sort of living organic being, trying to survive at all costs, just like any human being or animal would. Very fierce in its survival mechanism. When fire evolves a resistance to water, we’re all in trouble. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-water-put-fire-out/755776.md?page=1)