Asking whether urine is flammable might downright seem like an absurd question. Even a preschooler might have a faint idea that urine contains lots of water or liquid. It thus follows that if water is not flammable, then urine shouldn’t be flammable too.
This question might also come up when you’re camping. You might wonder if you can easily use your pee to quench the fire without any dire consequences. But is urine Flammable?
No! Urine is not flammable. This is because urine has high water content and little flammable contents. However, there is a caveat: it is possible to light a fire with your urine under the right circumstances.
This might sound a bit contradictory but will make more sense as we delve deeper into the exact contents of urine.
Contents
What Is Urine Made of?
Before we delve into whether or not urine is flammable, it is quite necessary to delve into the exact contents of your urine. This will help you understand if these contents are considered flammable.
Suppose you have heard of Hennig Brand – the scientist who discovered phosphorus around 1669 in Germany. In that case, you will definitely relate him to whether or not urine is flammable.
This scientist collected about 1500 gallons of urine to collect a white powder that burst into a white-hot fire when exposed to air.
Now back to the contents of urine – urine is made up of about 95% of water. The remaining contents are urea, chloride, sodium, potassium, creatinine, other dissolved ions, and inorganic and organic compounds.
Now, these remaining contents are not exactly considered flammable unless when some of them are isolated.
For instance, when urea is isolated and combined with strong reducing agents, it forms flammable gases (hydrogen). Also, ammonia, when isolated, may explode when exposed to high heat.
Is Urine Flammable?
As mentioned before, urine is not flammable. From analyzing the content of urine, we discovered it largely consists of water, thus making it not flammable.
Although some contents in urine, like ammonia and urea, might be considered flammable when isolated.
Both these contents are low in percentage, coupled with the fact that the high level of water in urine can easily diffuse these semi-flammable contents in your urine.
Is Pee Flammable?
Well, since pee is also called urine, it follows that it is not flammable. Pee originated from the French word “pisser.” In English, the word pisser is a crude and rude term for urinating.
Also, the word pee might have originated from the Latin term “pissiare,” which was meant to sound like somebody urinating.
Can You Light Urine on Fire?
Remember that we mentioned that urine might have some contents that might be considered flammable if left isolated.
Whether you can light urine on fire or even use it to start a fire might be an important question when you are camping — having it in mind that camping requires all the survival skills you can acquire.
Urine can light a fire or be used to start a fire. This might seem contradictory since we mentioned that urine is not flammable because of its high-water content.
How do you then use urine to start a fire? Note that using urine to start a fire doesn’t translate to urine being flammable.
To use urine to start a fire, take a plastic water bottle, fill it up with your pee, and put the cap back on securely. Turn the bottle upside down and hold it in the sun’s rays aiming it at tinder or a piece of paper.
Note that it will take quite some time for the paper or tinder to light up. This trick will also be made way easier with a magnifying glass.
Can I Pee on A Fire or An Electric Fence?
No. saying that urine is not flammable doesn’t in any way mean you should pee on a naked flame! Note that urine is full of salts which makes it an excellent conductor of electricity.
Peeing on a naked flame should rather make an unpleasant experience. The steam and the acrid smell of urine mixed with the flame will work it’s your clothes and hair, and nostrils. There should always be enough water to put out a fire.
Is Urine Hazardous?
No, urine is not exactly considered a hazardous substance. It contains non-toxic human waste products. However, urine has a pungent, unpleasant odor!
Is Urine Flammable After Consuming Alcohol?
No. no amount of alcohol will make your urine flammable. Even if your BAC (blood alcohol content) is over the roof, it still won’t be flammable. This is because alcohol toxicity would ensue long before you could drink enough to make it flammable.
Hard liquor won’t even burn unless it has a high alcohol percentage, like 80% and above.
Conclusion
Conclusively on whether or not urine is flammable, it can be confidently asserted that urine is not flammable because of its high water content.
Even the other contents in urine that should be explosive if isolated is in such small quantity that the water content in urine can easily diffuse them.
Urinating is just a way to dispel water and other impurities such as urea that have been collected in the kidneys.
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