David Glasgow, age 11, of Dallas, Tex., for his question:
What makes a match strike?
Our Early ancestors learned the use of fire before the dawn of history. For untold generations they wrestled with the tiresome task of making a small blaze for themselves. The granddaddy of our chemical matches was born about 200 years ago, and in 1,800 chemical matches could be purchased for four cents a piece.
The final bit of energy that triggers a match into a blazing flame is provided by a human being. When you strike a match, the energy from your muscles rubs its sensitive tip against a rough surface. This movement creates friction, and the friction of two substances rubbed together creates a certain amount of heat. You can test this by running your finger briskly on any solid surface. Test the surface after a short while, and you will find that both finger and surface are slightly warm.
The chemicals on the sensitive match need only a slight amount of extra warmth in order to burst into flame. The friction provided by your muscles rubbing against the rough side of the match box is enough. As the match burns, the chemical tip generates enough heat to ignite another coating of chemicals on the head of the match. This second chemical mixture blazes forth with still more heat, enough heat to ignite the wood or pasteboard of which the matchstick is made.
These fast stages of ignition occur in the second or so between the friction and the bursting match flame. It may seem like a complicated way to start a small blaze, but every step of the process is necessary. This is based on the fact that different substances burst into flame at different temperatures. Each substance has a certain kindling or ignition point at which it burns. The kindling point of wood or coal is fairly high. If you want to light a log by the heat from friction, you might have to rub for hours. It would take even longer to light coal by friction.
Certain chemicals, however, need but a slight rise in temperature to reach their ignition point. A match head is coated with low and medium low ignition mixtures. A heavy coat of a fairly low ignition mixture is applied first, and a spot of very low ignition mixture is added to the tip when it dries. The heat from slight friction is enough to ignite the super sensitive tip, and the flaming tip then ignites the coating of chemicals below it. The resulting flame is hot enough to light the matchstick.
When its work is done, the flaming match must be extinguished. A sensible person never strikes a match without keeping this last operation in mind, for anyone knows that a lighted match is a dangerous fire hazard. The manufacturer coats the matchstick with a fire retarding mixture, which encourages the flame to go out after its chemical tip has been consumed. But do not depend upon this. Blow out or douse the blaze. To be on the safe side, break the stick so the smoldering heat cannot sneak along and burst into flame without your knowledge.