Smoke facts for kids

Smoke

Smoke is a cloud of very small, solid particles that is made when something is burned with a flame, such as wood or paper.

Smoke can be bad because if it goes into the lungs of a person, it can hurt their lungs or even kill them (for example, in a house fire). Most people think that they are always able to see smoke, but people cannot see some types of smoke: they are invisible.

Smoke from tobacco

When people smoke tobacco in cigars or cigarettes, they are burning the tobacco and inhaling the smoke. Tobacco smoke can hurt the mouth, throat, and lungs. It can cause mouth, throat, or lung cancer. It can also cause emphysema and bronchitis (trouble breathing).

Smoke from factories

Factories and power plants produce large amounts of smoke into the atmosphere which pollutes the air. Eventually the toxic chemicals in smoke fall to the ground, and then they pollute the soil and the water. When the air, soil and water are polluted with toxic chemicals, the chemicals also get absorbed by plants and animals (including humans).

Smoke from dry ice

When Dry ice is put into water, the dry ice boils and makes fog. Movie makers and other show people use this to simulate smoke.

Related pages

• Pollution

Images for kids

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  Smoke from a bee smoker, used in beekeeping

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  Chemical composition distribution of volatile organic compounds released in smoke from a variety of solid fuels

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  Volatility distribution of volatile organic compound emissions in wood smoke

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  Oil fires and smoke, after Iraqi forces set fire to oil wells during the First Gulf War

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  Smoke from a grassland fire in Northern Mexico during a heat wave occurring at the same time as the forest fire season in Mexico.

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  Emission of soot in the fumes of a large diesel truck, without particle filters.

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  Smoke from a wildfire

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  Smoke rising up from the smoldering remains of a recently extingished mountain fire in South Africa.

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  Processing fish while being exposed to smoke

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  Reduced visibility due to wildfire smoke in Sheremetyevo Airport, Moscow, 7 August 2010

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  Red smoke carried by a parachutist of the UK Lightning Bolts Army Parachute Display Team

See also

In Spanish: Humo para niños