Glossary of terms used on this site

Scale for measuring temperature that originated with Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit in the 1700s. Defined by the temperature at which water freezes (32

Any situation in which a risk of fire is present, whether that pertains to the presence of combustible substances, a ready source of ignition or of elevated concentrations of oxydizers.

See Stationary Gas Detection.

Flame detection works through IR, near-IR, UV analysis or similar techniques, thermal imaging and/or image recognition, through ionization detection or with thermocouple sensors. Flame detectors are used for fire alarms, process control, and cooking and heating systemes.

A gas is classified as extremely flammable if it is ignitable when in a mixture of 13% or less by volume in air at 20

The lowest temperature at which the vapours of a volatile substance ignite when given an ignition source.

An electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of a fuel and an oxidizing agent into electricity through a pair of redox reactions. In gas detection, carbon monoxide and alcohol sensors (for breathalyzers) can be made using the fuel cell principle.