Dayna Engelmann! Age 12, Of Houston, Tex.., for her question:
How do they make matches?
A little match is a man made wonder of chemical magic. It is made to ignite in three small spurts. When the flame has done its work,, you can., as a rule., douse it with a puff of air., and the rest of the match stick does not .smolder ayy in dangerous embers and hot ashes. Each of these steps is carried out by the different chemicals from which the match is made.
In the United States we strike almost half a billion matches a year. More than half of them are sturdy kitchen matches that burst into flame when the match heads are rubbed on any rough surface. The rest are safety matches that must be struck on a special surface. A strip of emery paper or some other suitable rough material is provided on the folder or box of matches; as a rule,, a safety match refuses to ignite on any other surface.
All these matches we use are made by high speed machines., and in most cases the whole process is untouched by human hands. The match sticks of wood or paper go into the machine and pass through a series of chemical baths., dips and sprays. Meantime., another section of the machine may be assembling the match boxes. Finally, the hordes of finished matches are stacked and packed into their folders or boxes all by machinery.
The assembly line for making kitchen matches is a series of metal plates riddled with 800 holes'. Each large enough to hold a single match stick. The plates are carried around on a belt which runs on rollers. The first treatment is a chemical bath which adds to the safety of even a kitchen match. It prevents the match from smoldering to hot ashes when you blow out the flame.
The second chemical dip treats,the head end of each match stick, its purpose is to carry the bursting flame from the match head to the tip of the wooden match stick. The head is put onto the match stick in two steps, the first of these is a bath of thick chemicals, which adds the bulbous head to the match. The second adds the small tip., the match head. Finally, the moving army of matches may be given a chemical spray to keep out the dampness of the air.
When you strike a match, the sensitive tip ignites. It ignites the bulbous head of the match which lights the end of the match stick. When you blow out the flame the rest of the match stick refuses to go on burning.
Each substance in a match has its own kindling point, the temperature at which it will burst into flame. The sensitive chemicals in the tip of the match head need only the heat which comes from friction. They provide enough heat for the next set of chemicals to reach kindling point. When they ignite, they provide enough heat to light the end of the match stick.