Hobbies And Interests
Fuels
There are countless types of fuel, from a cedar log to nitro-methane burned in dragsters. They all have one thing in common. Fuel, with the right amount of oxygen present, and with the introduction of an ignition source, will burn. There is no simple answer to how much fuel and how much oxygen should be present. It depends on what you're trying to accomplish; what kind of fuel you're using; and the context and conditions in which you're using them. For example, even small differences in fuels from regular octane fuel to high-octane fuel will behave differently in response to oxidizers or oxygen.
Oxidizers
An oxidizer chemically delivers oxygen to any combustion. Think of oxidizers in a few ways. There is oxygen itself, present in air, which is required for most combustion. There are also chemical catalysts that help a fire make better use of oxygen. And there are other chemicals that contain oxygen, such as hydrogen peroxide, which, under the right circumstances, can be used to oxygenate a burn.
Types of Burns
There are so many variations of fuels and oxidizers, as well as applications, in which fuels are burned; the best answer to the "how much" question is simply the amount that produces the result you want. In some applications, such as a automotive carburetor, the engineering has been done for you. You can look to engineering data from the manufacturer of the carburetor, for example, to answer this question for your particular application. A carburetor is a good example of such ratios because a very specific result is desirable. The fuel should burn in a predictable and stable fashion, burning both fuel and oxygen as completely as possible. The burnt gasses should expand in a controlled fashioned, too. Too much fuel will cause the car to run poorly, waste gas and produce a lot of exhaust. Too little fuel will build a lot of power as well as excess heat; and this "lean" condition could damage the engine.
Detonation
A burn is essentially a controlled oxidation of fuel. It's a stable molecular chain reaction. Fuels such as gasoline are really making a fast burn. In other circumstances, fuels are capable of detonation or explosion. A detonation, rather than a stable oxidizing chain reaction, is an instant oxidation. Stable fuels such as benzene are used for applications such as car engines, where detonation is very undesirable. Other fuels that are less stable may be used when a near-instant oxidation is desirable, such as gunpowder or other ballistic propellants.