What is smoke?

Smoke

Smoke is a collection of airborne solid and liquid particulates and gases emitted when a material undergoes combustion or pyrolysis, together with the quantity of air that is entrained or otherwise mixed into the mass. It is commonly an unwanted by-product of fires (including stoves, candles, oil lamps, and fireplaces), but may also be used for pest control (cf. fumigation), communication (smoke signals), defensive and offensive capabilities in the military (smoke-screen), cooking (smoked salmon), or smoking (tobacco, cannabis, etc.). Smoke is used in rituals, when incense, sage, or resin is burned to produce a smell for spiritual purposes. Smoke is sometimes used as a flavoring agent, and preservative for various foodstuffs. Smoke is also a component of internal combustion engine exhaust gas, particularly diesel exhaust.

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Famous quotes containing the word smoke:

    All those large dreams by which men long live well
    Are magic-lanterned on the smoke of hell;
    William Empson (1906–1984)

    God loafs around heaven,
    without a shape
    but He would like to smoke His cigar
    or bite His fingernails
    and so forth.
    Anne Sexton (1928–1974)

    As far as I can see, this autumn haze
    That spreading in the evening air both ways
    Makes the new moon look anything but new
    And pours the elm-tree meadow full of blue,
    Is all the smoke from one poor house alone....
    Robert Frost (1874–1963)