What chemically happens something catches a spark and ignites? And why?

Question

What chemically happens something catches a spark and ignites? And why?

Answer 1

Chemically, burning is but one form of oxidation, the combining of an element with oxygen. Thus water is the oxide of hydrogen; the three atoms combine to form one molecule of water, H2O.

Oddly, rusting is chemically the same process, but much slower. But it does release heat as it forms Fe3O4, iron oxide.

More generally, oxidation is also used to refer to any change toward a more positive valence, the opposite of reduction.

Oxygen itself does not burn, a fact that escapes many people.

A spark can ignite a mixture of oxygen and a flammable vapor, such as gasoline, and the reaction continues until one element is no longer available for combination.

Answer 2

The spark has a temperature higher than the flash point of the material that starts to burn.