How Fast Is Gas Flame Tip?

The tip of a flame on a gas stove rises at about 0.5 metres per second — laminar flow, slow and steady. The hot air rises faster than the fuel is consumed, which is what gives the flame its characteristic shape.

Flame fronts in domestic gas burners propagate at about 0.5 m/s — exactly the speed needed to balance gas flow rate. Faster, and the flame would lift off; slower, and it would flash back into the pipe.

• Same pace as a vinyl record edge
• Hot air rising faster than fuel burning