Flame rectification is a phenomenon in which a

flame A flame (from Latin '' flamma'') is the visible, gaseous part of a fire. It is caused by a highly exothermic chemical reaction taking place in a thin zone. When flames are hot enough to have ionized gaseous components of sufficient density they ...

can act as an electrical rectifier. The effect is commonly described as being caused by the greater mobility of

electron The electron ( or ) is a subatomic particle with a negative one elementary electric charge. Electrons belong to the first generation of the lepton particle family, and are generally thought to be elementary particles because they have no ...

s relative to that of positive

ion An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge. The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by conve ...

s within the flame, and the asymmetric nature of the

electrode An electrode is an electrical conductor used to make contact with a nonmetallic part of a circuit (e.g. a semiconductor, an electrolyte, a vacuum or air). Electrodes are essential parts of batteries that can consist of a variety of materials d ...

s used to detect the phenomenon. This effect is used by rectification flame sensors to detect the presence of flame. The rectifying effect of the flame on an AC voltage allows the presence of flame to be distinguished from a resistive leakage path. One experimental study suggested that the effect is caused by the ionization process occurring mostly at the base of the flame, making it more difficult for the electrode further from the base of the flame to attract positive ions from the burner, yet leaving the electron current largely unchanged with distance because of the greater mobility of the electron charge carriers.

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A video of a flame being used as a rectifier in a simple AM radio

Plasma physics

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