match
A match or match , outdated sulfur wood , is a stick used to start a fire . It consists of a shaft made of wood , cardboard or paper with an ignition head attached to one end. By rubbing the ignition head on a friction surface, it ignites and causes the shaft to burn.
The first practical matches came on the market at the beginning of the 19th century. In the initial phase they were unreliable, explosive and contained very toxic substances, especially white phosphorus . Safety matches have been around since the 1850s as they are still in use.
Although the words match and sulfur were often used interchangeably in the past , the sulfur is actually a forerunner of the modern match. It is described in the history section.
Matches are a pyrotechnic product .
history
Overview
- Sulfur woods have been used as a kindling aid to start fires for at least 2000 years.
- The discovery of phosphorus in 1669 enabled simple, chemical ignition.
- Early matches were made between 1780 and 1830 and used u. a. Phosphorus or potassium chlorate, discovered in 1787 .
- Around 1826, the English pharmacist John Walker invented the first real match with friction ignition. The new ignition principle became known to the wider public with the Lucifer matches.
- The first reliable matches were phosphorus matches, which appeared around 1830. In the emerging match industry, workers suffered poisoning and occupational diseases from white phosphorus . The self-igniting phosphorus woods were not without danger.
- Around 1844 the Swedish chemist Gustaf Erik Pasch invented the safety match, the decisive advantage of which is that the ignition mechanism is distributed over the ignition head and the new, special friction surface. It doesn't need white phosphorus.
- The Swedish businessman Carl Frans Lundström made the safety match a success from 1855 and laid the foundation for the dominant Swedish match industry.
- Approx. In 1906 the use of white phosphorus to make matches was banned worldwide.
- The Swedish entrepreneur Ivar Kreuger founded a European ignition goods monopoly, which was state-guaranteed in Germany from 1930 and from which today's global corporation, Swedish Match, developed.
- Match production peaked around 1958, when the US was producing around 40 billion matches per year. A large part were promotional items .
chronology
Sulfur sticks, early forerunners of the matches, are pointed wooden sticks whose tips are coated with sulfur . They facilitate the transition from smoldering tinder to an open flame . If the tip is pressed into the embers, first the sulfur ignites and then the wood. Such sticks treated with sulfur were mentioned as early as 77 by Pliny in his Naturalis historia . In China they existed around 950 at the latest, but probably as early as the 6th century and in the 13th century they were common at least in Hangzhou . In medieval Europe they were widespread and, along with sponge tinder and fire steel , common lighter . Bushcraft still use them today. In the 19th century the words were bowed and sulfur wood used interchangeably, because to date include matches sulfur.
The prerequisite for developing matches is reliable chemical ignition. In 1669 the Hamburg alchemist Hennig Brand discovered the element phosphorus while processing urine . Phosphorus comes in different variants, the allotropes , which differ in their color and also have very different properties. The white phosphorus discovered by Brand astounded by its chemiluminescence and the high risk of fire it poses. A piece of white phosphorus can catch fire at 50 ° C, and finely divided it can even ignite. It is pyrophoric . It also reacts violently with many substances, including sulfur. This spontaneous combustion and the explosive reactions led to a first wave of experiments aimed at starting a fire. In 1670 the naturalist Robert Boyle systematically investigated phosphorus and in 1680 he experimented with sulfur woods, which could be ignited with the help of strips of paper that had been prepared with phosphorus. However, this technology is not suitable for everyday use, because the phosphor paper has to be freshly prepared and cannot be stored.
From 1780 to 1830, many different devices were invented that approached the concept of the individual match and many of them used phosphorus. The priorities of these inventions are disputed. A large group were devices with names such as "Portable Phosphor Box", "Phosphor Bottle" or "Pocket Luminar", which consist of a hermetically sealed tube, a kind of test tube with a thin, phosphorus-containing coating on the inside. To make a fire, the tube is opened briefly, a stick of sulfur rubbed on the inner wall and pulled back. The stick ignites in the ambient air, provided it has absorbed enough phosphorus. This type of ignition is unreliable and not very safe. There are many other early fire apparatus, based on phosphorus and other principles, with the more complex being more of a lighter type .
The discovery of potassium chlorate in 1787 by the French doctor and chemist Claude-Louis Berthollet led to the development of new ignition mechanisms. Potassium chlorate is a strongly oxidizing agent which, when combined with a fuel, results in very high - energy mixtures or pyrotechnic compounds . Such a mix for matches is called a primer, and all modern mixes contain potassium chlorate. Sentences with chlorate have the property of igniting in contact with high percentage sulfuric acid and this reaction was used for the first ignition mechanism with two components.
In 1805 the tuned woods invented by Jean Louis Chancel came on the market, which he sold under the name briquet oxygéné . The detonator head of these sticks contained potassium chlorate, sulfur, binding agents and other components which, when moistened with concentrated sulfuric acid, ignited. For transport, the acid was dropped onto a piece of asbestos that was carried in a glass vial with a ground- glass stopper . The asbestos served as an acid-resistant sponge and was introduced after accidents with clothing, upholstery and carpets increased. Acid splashes and flying sparks were common. Nevertheless, these and other matches with sulfuric acid ignition were quite common for a long time and were only replaced by matches.
Probably the most sophisticated variant of this ignition can be found in the Prometheus matches ( English Promethean Matches ). The original principle was further developed by workers and the result was patented by Samuel Jones in 1826. The shaft consists of an 8 cm long, stiff paper tube with a glass bead filled with sulfuric acid in one end. A mixture of potassium chlorate, sugar and binding agent envelops this ampoule and glues it firmly to the shaft. If the glass is destroyed, the acid-moistened mixture ignites and causes the paper to burn. The British naturalist Charles Darwin demonstrated these matches to his hosts during his circumnavigation with the HMS Beagle in July 1832 when visiting a plantation in Brazil . He reports:
“I carried with me some" promethean "matches, which I ignited by biting; it was thought so wonderful that a man should strike fire with his teeth that it was usual to collect the whole family to see it: I was once offered a dollar for a single one. "
“I had some 'Prometheus' matches with me, which I lit by biting on them; it was considered so wonderful that a man could make a fire with his teeth that the whole family was usually brought together to see it: once I was offered a dollar for a single one. "
Actually, small pliers were intended to crack the ampoules , which were also available in sets with decorative cases . At the beginning of the 21st century, the ignition of some Prometheus matches from the Bryant & May collection of matches was staged and documented. There are pictures of the igniting sticks.
In this ignition mechanism, acid and ignition material form a two-component system, the individual parts of which are only brought together for ignition. Such two-component ignitions are very safe, because in the absence of the second component, the risk of accidental or spontaneous ignition is very low.
The first real match with friction ignition was invented by the English pharmacist John Walker around 1826 . The detonator head contained potassium chlorate and antimony (III) sulfide and could be ignited by tearing it, with skill, with a folded piece of sandpaper . The pieces of wood were very large and since some force is required to ignite the very sluggish mixture, the ignition heads often tore off. Walker did not patent his invention. Instead, Samuel Jones started producing very similar sticks in 1830, the heads of which also contained sulfur to improve their ignitability. They became known as Jones's Lucifer Matches . Jones was also the first to offer his matches in small, rectangular boxes made of cardboard . On the box of his Lucifers it said:
“If possible, avoid inhaling gas that escapes from the combustion of the black composition. Persons whose lungs are delicate should by no means use the Lucifers. "
“If possible, avoid inhaling the gas that escapes when the black mixture burns. People with sensitive lungs should never use the Lucifers . "
Similar sticks were also made by GF Watts and sold as Watt's Chlorate Lucifer Matches . Lucifer symbolizes the same thing in Roman mythology as the figure Phosphorus in Greek: the "light bringer" and the morning star . The word Lucifer developed into a generic name in English, Dutch and regionally also in German . The ignition heads with antimony (III) sulfide never worked satisfactorily because the mixture is too slow to ignite. The Lucifer but demonstrated the practical benefits of friction ignition, which is very comfortable compared with acid and phosphorus vial.
When looking for a reliable friction ignition, it made sense to experiment with the highly and spontaneously ignitable white phosphorus . The priority of the invention of the phosphor match is not clear, but between 1830 and 1834 such sticks were developed and introduced in many countries. The French chemistry student Charles Marc Sauria discovered the principle of phosphorus-based friction ignition in 1830 and developed a working match by 1831. But he didn't have the money to register a patent and his match was later made in Darmstadt and Vienna without his involvement . It was not until 1884 that the French government recognized his invention and granted him the license to run a tobacco shop ( French bureau de tabac ). In 1832 William Newton patented the Vesta , a long-burning phosphorus match that uses a slim candle with a cotton wick as a shaft . Similar shafts still exist in Latin America today and these sticks are called Vesta . In Hungary the invention is attributed to János Irinyi and Samuel Jones also patented his Fuzees , a phosphorus-based cigar lighter, in 1832 . German literature sometimes incorrectly names Friedrich Kammerer as the inventor, who produced it industrially in Ludwigsburg from 1833 . The match industry arose and match factories were built in many places.
The new phosphorus woods ignited reliably but also unintentionally or spontaneously. Thus, in containing the United Kingdom from 1835 available and after the inventor of the Congreve'schen rocket named Congreve when it was introduced 20% phosphorus. The quality of these sticks has been greatly improved by reducing the phosphorus content to 5%, among other adjustments to the mixture. In order to avoid spontaneous self-ignition, there were specially airtight matchboxes that shield the phosphorus from the oxygen in the air . Phosphorus matches, although dangerous, were successful because they worked very reliably.
The congreves weren't the only matches that caught the eye with a spectacular burn. Jones' cigar lighter, the Fuzees , wide strips of cardboard with a thick, long-burning fuse head containing, among other things, saltpeter and wood shavings , were also used to ignite powder loads in railways. The Vesuvians probably had the largest detonator head . This cigar lighter had a very sturdy shaft made of hardwood, sometimes even glass, to which an oversized, pear-shaped ignition head was attached. The shaft offered the necessary safety distance and the sticks were only intended for outdoor use.
Even if consumers were only rarely confronted with the toxicity of white phosphorus, for example when children chewed the ignition heads, working in matchmaking was extremely harmful to health. The phosphorus vapors enter the body primarily through damaged teeth and lead to a loss of bone substance in the jaw . The teeth fall out, necrosis occurs , the bone dies. The loss of the jawbone severely disfigured those affected. The effects of long term exposure were recognized in 1839 and the phosphorus necrosis of the jaw, jaw and phosphorus ( English phossy jaw called), was one of the first occupational diseases have been diagnosed as such. Despite this, the production of phosphor matches initially continued unchanged. Match heads were also found in police statistics as a cause of death because they were highly toxic and easy to obtain.
In 1834 a shop opened in New York selling, among other things, self-igniting cigars. These tobacco products with ignition heads were sold under the name Locofocos , a word creation based on the English Locomotive ( locomotive ) and the Italian Fuoco ( fire ), which should probably mean "self-fired". The namesake erroneously assumed that locomotive means "self- mover ", although the prefix Loco actually means "place". When a left-wing group was about to split off at a meeting of the Democratic Party in New York in 1835 , the event management had the lights in the hall turned off to prevent the rebellious delegates from working. According to the anecdote, however, the MPs could not be stopped, but continued to work under the glow of their self-igniting Locofocos . The cigar has long been forgotten, but it was during this period that the word locofocos got its political connotation in the USA, where it is used as a term for more radical supporters of the Democratic Party.
The Swedish chemist Gustaf Erik Pasch , partner in the JS Bagge & Co. Kemiska factory , the first match factory in Sweden , invented a new type of match around 1844 from which the modern safety match developed. He designed a friction ignition that consists of two components: an insensitive ignition head and a new, special friction surface, without which the match cannot be ignited. The header contains potassium chlorate and the friction surface of red phosphorus , which in coating by abrasion a trace Armstrong's mixture form. The very sensitive and high-energy ignition mixture reacts immediately and ignites the head. This two-component ignition is the decisive safety advantage of the safety matches, which also get by without white phosphorus. However, red phosphorus was not yet available in large quantities. The sticks were a little more expensive than those of the competition and consumers weren't willing to spend more money on safety. In addition, the new friction surface wore out too quickly. Friction surfaces consist of a glued mixture of red phosphorus and glass powder that is applied to cardboard. The repeated ignition of Armstrong's mixture in close proximity is a heavy burden on this construction. The available red phosphorus was often contaminated with phosphoric acid , which corroded the friction surface and further reduced the service life. The safety matches had teething problems.
Red discoloration in white phosphorus, e.g. B. after sun exposure were long, but the causative substance was not known. The Austrian chemist Anton Schrötter confirmed in 1848 the assumption that it is also pure phosphorus, only in a red modification . He developed the first syntheses and the search for a conversion process to produce red phosphorus from white began. The red allotrope of phosphorus not only has a different color, it also behaves very differently in other ways. It does not glow , is not pyrophoric and otherwise far less flammable. Most importantly, red phosphorus is non-toxic. It reacts very violently with strong oxidizing agents such as potassium chlorate and it is precisely this reaction that the safety matches use to ignite. The manufacturing process was developed by Arthur Albright, who had acquired Schrötter's patent and who presented his amorphous phosphorus , often called at the time, at the Great Exhibition in Crystal Palace in London in 1851 .
The same world exhibition of 1851 was visited by the Swedish businessman Carl Frans Lundström , who in 1845 together with his brother Johan Edvard Lundström had founded a match factory in Jönköping . They knew Pasch's safety matches, knew about the problems and had similar difficulties in their own experiments. The friction surfaces lost their ignition effect. A sample of Albright's red phosphorus brought back from the World's Fair passed the tests much better and the first major order followed. The brothers continued to improve their product and exhibited their safety matches at the 1855 World's Fair in Paris . Their friction surface held up and the sticks ignited very reliably. Eleven years after Pasch's invention, the safety match was ready for the market.
In the following decades there were no more revolutionary developments. One of the latest innovations was the cardboard-shaft matchstick, as used in matchbooks. It was invented by Joshua Pusey in 1892.
The following people of the 19th century also dealt with inventions and developments in the field of matches or were active in the industry: Robert Czerweny von Arland , Rudolf Christian Boettger , Georg Kaßner , Friedrich Moldenhauer .
In the United States , the safety match was slow to be accepted. Consumers preferred larger kitchen matches that could be scratched with one hand on the sole of a shoe and other rough surfaces. The white phosphorus in these sticks was difficult to replace until the French chemists Henri Sévène and Emile David Cahen invented a new ignition head mixture. The crucial component of this mixture is the non-toxic tetraphosphorus trisulfide , which is also called sesquisulfide in the jargon of the industry . The US patent was in 1900 by the Diamond Match Company acquired, and other companies (for the production of safe, non-toxic Everywhere detonators English anywhere Strike - or shortly SAW matches ) offered.
After awareness of the social costs of using white phosphorus in matchmaking increased, it was banned in most countries or the products were pushed out of the market through massive taxation. The Bern Convention (1906) led to a ban on white phosphorus in the manufacture of matches in 1906.
From 1930 there was a state monopoly on ignition goods in the German Reich and from 1949 to 1983 in the Federal Republic of Germany , which came into being at the instigation of the Swedish “match king” Ivar Kreuger . Kreuger had granted Germany, economically weakened by the First World War, a loan in the millions. This legally anchored monopoly was only lifted in 1983 after the loan was repaid.
In the United States , match production peaked around 1958. There were approximately produces 40 billion matches per year. Matchbooks had become an important promotional item . About three-quarters of the production were matches with a cardboard shaft.
Types
Safety match
Safety matches can only be ignited on special friction surfaces. Self-ignition is almost impossible. A typical ignition head contains glue and a little sulfur as fuel, potassium chlorate as an oxidizing agent , glass powder as well as dyes and additives. The friction surface consists of a glued mixture of glass powder and red phosphorus .
The wooden shafts are mostly made of poplar of the aspen type and are impregnated to make them flame retardant . This reduces the risk of fire due to shaft remains that have not been completely extinguished and prevents hot fragments from falling off. The shafts are soaked in the front area with paraffin , which ignites even at low temperatures. It burns with a calm, candle-like flame and provides a significant portion of the energy. The shafts usually have a square cross-section with a side length of 2 mm for short sticks to 3.5 mm for longer sticks. The approx. 1 mm (0.038 in) thick cardboard for cardboard matches is mostly made from waste paper and flame retardants are added during manufacture. The tips of the punched, approx. 3 mm (⅛ in) wide shafts are also dipped in paraffin. A third type of match is the so-called Vesta , which is common in countries in South America. It has a thin, cylindrical shaft completely covered with wax, the wax- soaked core of which consists of cotton threads or rolled, compressed paper. This shaft type has a burn time of up to one minute and is similar to a miniature candle .
By brushing the ignition head on the friction surface, abrasion occurs and the highly explosive Armstrong mixture of chlorate and red phosphorus formed in traces ignites. It is not clear whether the reaction is initiated by frictional heat in a hotspot or the close contact of the two substances by pressure. When it is ignited, the ignition head ignites and the pyrotechnic composition of glue, sulfur and chlorate burns . Most of the fuel consists of glue. The sulfur fulfills a double function as a fuel and a flavoring substance and helps to mask the very unpleasant smell of burning glue. At the now prevailing flame temperature of 1350 ° C to 1930 ° C, the glass powder melts in the ignition head and, together with the burning composition, forms a sizzling drop . This glass droplet acts as a spark arrester and holds back the non-volatile combustion residues that could otherwise splash. The burning ignition head delivers an energy of approx. 58 joules (14 cal), which is sufficient to ignite the paraffin of the shaft. When the head is extinguished, the molten glass solidifies to form the slag that is typical for burned-out matches , in which the residues are trapped.
Matches everywhere
Everywhere matches ( English strike anywhere - or SAW matches for short ), sometimes also called friction matches , can be ignited on any rough surface. They contain tetraphosphorus trisulfide and potassium chlorate , which react when rubbed together and ignite the match. In the USA, these sticks usually have a fuse head that consists of two types of ignition material: a friction-sensitive tip and a less sensitive body, which are often also colored. In Europe, on the other hand, they usually have a head made of just one type of ignition compound , such as the so-called Fiammiferi multicolori , matches with colored heads from the Italian factory SAFFA ( Società Anonima Fabbriche Fiammiferi ed Affini ). Since they can also ignite unintentionally, for example by pressing the ignition heads against each other in the matchbox , they are almost entirely displaced by safety matches . As of 2019, all matches may not be taken by passengers into security areas or on board an aircraft.
Special matches
There are many varieties of matches. Small sticks with a long shaft, which are intended for lighting fireplaces or stoves , are marketed as stove , fireplace or kitchen matches , among other things . Although they look flashy, technically they are safety matches.
On the other hand, there are special matches, on the shaft of which an additional pyrotechnic charge , a mixture of oxidizer, fuel and additives is applied in order to achieve a certain effect. These sticks cannot be made on the same equipment as normal safety matches. They are often made in small batches and sometimes still dipped by hand. Therefore they are often considerably more expensive. These sticks also usually have a safety detonator.
Storm matches are particularly wind resistant. This is achieved through a high proportion of gas-producing fuels and especially through the addition of a little tetraphosphorus trisulfide , which is also used in all-round igniters. If the flame goes out due to strong winds, this addition can cause the match to flare up again after the gust subsides. They are often treated with wax for better protection against moisture. These matches are used in camping and trekking , and are often part of emergency kits and survival kits.
Bengali matches, including Bengal sticks, burn with a glistening, colored flame, usually in red or green. This miniature version of a Bengali fire belongs to the smallest fireworks display and is particularly popular in Germany. The mixture on its shaft contains the metal salts necessary for flame coloring .
Pioneering matches were developed to facilitate reliable ignition of fuses in the military and mining . There are compositions especially for night operations that burn without an open flame, but have a particularly strong glowing front. This can e.g. B. can be achieved by mixtures that u. A. Contain charcoal .
There were and are many other unusual matches, including joke items with exploding heads and matches that give off an aroma or even pest control gases .
Rubbing heads and igniters
A rubbing head ( English match button ) is a larger ignition head on a pyrotechnic object, which is used for ignition instead of an ordinary fuse . The very safe concept of lighting by rubbing on a rubbing surface is applied here to other objects, such as firecrackers . Reaming heads burn slowly at a constant speed and an intense flame and give the user sufficient time. Many pyrotechnic light sources and signaling devices , such as the road flares and railroad fusees common in the USA, also have reaming heads, just like the US military's M1 Fire Starter , which was used to start fires under adverse conditions. These mixtures sometimes contain non- hydrophilic binders such as shellac or nitrocellulose .
Another application of the same principle are simple detonators , manual ignition means for fuses. The American M1 Friction-Type Fuse Lighter consists of a metal cap, the inside of which is coated with ignition compound and into which the end of a fuse is clamped. By pulling on a rip cord treated with friction surface mixture, which leads through a hole in the bottom of the cap, the mass ignites and produces a powerful flame. This device is relatively cheap and relatively reliable.
Special forms and curiosities
An unusual variant are safety matches that are ignited by pulling them. These very filigree paper matches are individually stuck in the channels of a type of corrugated cardboard that is coated on the inside with a strip of friction surface material. If such a “match” is quickly pulled out of its channel, the ignition head passes the friction surface and ignites. The corrugated cardboard serves as a magazine and packaging and could e.g. B. be glued to a cigarette box.
One of the exotic curiosities is the “reusable” match, which is based on the patents of Rezsö König and Zoltán Földi and which was advertised years ago with exaggerated claims. It was a short stick, about the thickness of a pencil, with a core made from a safety detonator mixture and a jacket made from a slow and cool burning composition, the decisive component of which was the expensive and poorly preserved metaldehyde . Repeated ignition spoiled the friction surface and the "reusable" match was unsuccessful. Nonetheless, it remains an amazing curiosity because it has a primary ignition mechanism that can be blown out and re-lit.
storage
Matches must be stored away from heat, but above all from moisture. In a temperate climate, matches are very durable. Matchbooks that were kept without further precautions showed no noticeable change in the ignition behavior after more than 40 years. Only the cardboard shafts showed signs of age. Matches spoil quickly in contact with water and over time under very humid climatic conditions, because the ignition heads draw water and soften. In emergency rations and the like, they are therefore usually shrink-wrapped in foil.
Parents have to teach their children about the dangers of matches, the Federal Court of Justice ruled in several rulings. In addition, as part of their duty of supervision , they must take care that their children do not come into possession of matches without permission.
Boxes
Matchboxes consist of a drawer and a matching sleeve with one or two side friction surfaces. They used to be made of wood chip, but are now mostly made of cardboard. In addition to the usual cuboid boxes, there are also boxes in the form of a three-sided prism or special shapes for advertising purposes. For storage in the trouser pocket there were matching metal sleeves that had recesses on the side in the area of the friction surface. Decorative brackets that could be placed on the table and held a box slightly open were common as smoking accessories .
Letter
In matchbooks, also called matchbooks , the matches are united in a wooden or cardboard comb. The matches can be broken off or torn out individually. They are protected by a small cardboard booklet, which also carries the rubbing surface. Matchbooks are used as an advertising medium or as part of emergency rations or field equipment.
If several matchbooks are carried in the same bag, there is an increased risk of accidents, as the ignition heads of one packet can come into contact with the friction surface of another and ignite unintentionally.
Manufacturing
The modern mass production of matches is a highly automated, high-speed process that is carried out on systems that have been designed with decades of production experience.
The cardboard shafts are punched into combs with a hundred shafts each , which are cut apart after production and stapled in matchbooks . Such a punch can produce 2.5 million stems per hour. Starting from raw cardboard, the production of finished cardboard matches, which can be stapled in letters, takes about 30 minutes.
The wooden shafts with a square cross-section are produced by first peeling off a veneer of the required thickness from tree trunk sections and then cutting it into individual shafts. These are then impregnated with flame-retardant phosphate salts such as diammonium hydrogen phosphate .
The tips of the shafts now pass through a bath of molten paraffin .
Then the ignition head is attached. The ignition material is located as an aqueous, viscous, smooth suspension in a sump in which a horizontal cylinder rotates around its axis and thereby pulls out the material on its outer surface to form a liquid film. The tips of the shafts are immersed in that they pass through the film of priming compound, the jacket speed of the cylinder being synchronized with the transport speed of the shafts. While a symmetrical, evenly rounded drop of ignition material forms, cold air is blown over the matches. The sticks now go into the dryer, the first task of which is to quickly gel the ignition head at a relative humidity of 45–55%. Only then does the withdrawal of water begin.
Safety matches have to meet many, sometimes very contradicting requirements. To understand the chemistry and composition of the following primer head and friction surface mixtures, it helps to consider some of these requirements:
Although the Armstrong mixture used for ignition is unpredictable and very dangerous, the ignition must be very reliable and at the same time very safe for consumers. After ignition, the head must burn off evenly, without deflagration or flying sparks. The latter is achieved, as described in the safety match section, by adding glass or silicates. The phosphorus of the friction surface must also be protected from burning and must not cause a shower of sparks, which is ensured by selecting the appropriate binding agent. A binding agent with a higher adhesive strength reduces wear on the friction surface but at the same time also reduces the likelihood of ignition. Since ignitability, spark formation and wear of the friction surface are interrelated, the ignition head and friction surface mixture not only have to be precise in itself, they also have to be coordinated with each other and even ignition on an "external" friction surface must not pose a risk. The glass powder in the friction surface also helps protect against burn-off and wear.
The binding agent of the ignition head plays an even more complex role. The glue must be hard enough to allow easy abrasion before ignition . The amount of binder is limited by its role as a pyrotechnic fuel. Since ignition heads are already very fuel-rich in relation to the oxidizer, too much additional glue would result in a scorching head, the temperature of which does not reach the flash point of the paraffin. The fuse head would fail.
Modern matchstick production uses only one type of binder in a few degrees of hardness for heads: hide glue . It has the property of forming a reversible gel when a concentrated solution cools below 30 ° C , in which the components of the mixture remain suspended without sinking and separating. This ensures a homogeneous ignition head that burns evenly and without deflagration. However, if the glue forms a skin and thus a hard, outer layer when it dries, the match head will explode when ignited, because ignition head mixtures are very sensitive to even the slightest damming and then usually burn explosively. The formation of glue layers is promoted by warm, humid production conditions, which delay the gelling of the ignition head. Before the spread of temperature and humidity control in match drying, exploding heads were not uncommon.
The sulfur serves on the one hand, similar to black powder , as an early reacting reducing agent with a low flash point, on the other hand it covers the smell of burning glue, which is perceived as even more unpleasant, by the distinctive smell of its combustion products. In other mixtures, rosin powder fulfills a similar role.
|
1 (%) |
2 (%) |
3a (%) |
3b (%) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hide glue | 9-11 | 11 | 11 | 11 |
| Strength | 2-3 | 4th | 5 | |
| sulfur | 3-5 | 5 | 6th | |
| Potassium chlorate | 45-55 | 51 | 32 | 37 |
| Neutralizer | 3 | 7th | 6th | 1 |
| Kieselguhr | 5-6 | 3 | ||
| Glass powder , silicates | 15-32 | 15th | 33 | 21.5 |
| Burn rate catalyst | n. B. | 1 | 0.5 | |
| Dyes | n. B. | |||
| Iron (III) oxide | 6th | |||
| Manganese dioxide | 4th | |||
| paraffin | 2 | |||
| Tetraphosphorus trisulfide | 10 | 3 | ||
| rosin | 4th | 6th | ||
| Dammar | 3 |
Mixture 1 is the ignition material of an American safety match from before 1989, Mixture 2 that of a European one before 1973, which originally comes from Shidlovskii (see literature). Numbers 3a and 3b are the two ignition masses for an American all-round match with a friction-sensitive tip (3a) and a less sensitive hull (3b), also before 1989. These compositions were also representative in 2001.
Both the ignition heads and the friction surfaces contain an insoluble, acid-neutralizing compound such as calcium carbonate or zinc oxide . This neutralizer prevents progressive oxidation of sulfur in the head and phosphorus in the friction surface. The latter can be extremely accelerated by the catalytic influence of certain heavy metals , especially copper . In the past, friction surfaces were sometimes mysteriously destroyed when, for example, copper-containing metallic effect pigments were used to decorate the matchbooks.
The burn rate catalysts are the most poorly understood component of modern ignition heads. On the one hand, they help set the burn rate of the composition. On the other hand, they facilitate the transition from the primary reaction between phosphorus and chlorate to a burning head. In the past, potassium dichromate was mostly used in considerable amounts, but even small amounts have a significant influence on the ignition behavior. It can be replaced by lead compounds such as lead thiosulphate or generally by finely divided metal oxides that can assume various valence states . In Europe, for example, the toxic chromium and lead compounds still used in the USA are being replaced by manganese dioxide . In related pyrotechnic sentences, similar compounds lower the decomposition temperature of molten chlorates and are therefore called catalysts , even if the exact principle of action is not known.
|
1 (%) |
2 (%) |
3 (%) |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Ember glue | 16 | 9.3 | |
| Dextrins | 20th | 7th | |
| red phosphorus | 50 | 50 | 37.2 |
| Antimony (III) sulfide | 33.5 | ||
| Iron (III) oxide | 7th | ||
| Manganese dioxide | 3.4 | ||
| Calcium carbonate | 5 | 2 | |
| Glass powder | 30th | 25th | 0.6 |
| Carbon black | 4th |
The friction surfaces for safety matches are applied to the packaging of the sticks by roller coating . Aqueous suspensions of the mixtures shown here or similar are used. Nowadays, the binding agent of the friction surfaces is subsequently made insoluble, either by treatment with formaldehyde , casein and ammonia or another hardening process. This prevents discoloration when the friction surface z. B. becomes damp from rain or sweat. Friction surfaces that use non-water-based binders to achieve increased weather resistance or to adhere to surfaces made of glass or metal exist, but are usually inferior in their function to classic water-based mixtures.
Antimony (III) sulfide , which played a crucial role in John Walker's first real match, is rarely used anymore. Ignition heads with antimony (III) sulfide and chlorate can ignite on rough surfaces and are therefore not safety ignition heads. In order to meet the safety concept, it is used today, if at all, in friction surfaces to replace part of the phosphorus. In the USA it was classified as a "strategic and critical material" until around 1989 and was not used by the match industry. It is relatively expensive and, due to its high specific weight, has a tendency to fall out of the suspension .
Safety and toxicity
Although safety matches are very safe, under certain conditions they can ignite without a friction surface. When heated in the oven, safety matches ignite spontaneously at 180–200 ° C, all-round matches at around 120 ° C. A targeted hammer blow can cause a safety detonator to explode. Contact with sulfuric acid (≥60%) also leads to ignition. Finally, there are people who have mastered the trick of lighting a safety match on a pane of glass or a smooth piece of sturdy cardboard by applying enough pressure while painting to heat the fuse head through friction without causing it to burst.
In order to investigate the fire behavior, individual letters in cardboard boxes with 50 boxes of 50 matchbooks were electrically remote-ignited. In these experiments, the fire only covered small letters in the box of the source of the fire and often only a few before it went out due to lack of oxygen. The energy of the ignited heads is insufficient to cause a major fire under these conditions. However, collecting large amounts of ignition material repeatedly leads to serious accidents.
The slightly bitter, salty ignition heads are often sucked and chewed by children and pets. A single ignition head contains approximately 9 mg of potassium chlorate and a dose of up to 1 g is non-toxic to an adult. The other ingredients are either harmless or contained in such a small amount that they are considered harmless. Even if children chew a whole matchbook, there is hardly any health risk. Ingestion of large amounts leads to potassium chlorate intoxication. Regular consumption is not recommended.
The red phosphorus used in friction surfaces is non-toxic if it is pure. In matchmaking, large quantities have been processed into friction surfaces every day for many decades without any noticeable health effects. White phosphorus, on the other hand, is highly toxic and has therefore been banned in matchmaking for over a hundred years. Friction surfaces are harmless to health.
Others
- The collection of larger amounts of detonating material can be prosecuted in Germany as an offense against the Explosives Act .
- Matches are not vegan because the ignition heads contain animal glue .
- Collecting matchboxes and -briefchen is as phillumeny referred.
- The older name Schwefelhölzer is preserved in the title of the fairy tale The little girl with the sulfur woods by Hans Christian Andersen .
- The children's book Struwwelpeter from 1844 contains the sad story about the lighter , which is an early warning to children not to play with matches. Due to the ease of use compared to earlier lighters , children could also light a fire with it, so that a new danger arose.
Games and handicrafts
The mostly easily accessible matches are used for recreational games. This includes brain teasers where the solution can be found by moving wood. Matches can also be used as memos and playing sticks for puzzling . They are also used for a lot of handicrafts.
Matchstick cubes without the addition of glue
Ship models made from glued matches
Matchstick museums
There are matchstick museums in Europe in Jönköping ( Sweden ), in Sušice ( Bohemian Forest ) ( Czech Republic ), in Grafenwiesen and Bispingen ( Germany ), in Tomar ( Portugal ), in Schönenwerd ( Switzerland ) and in Bystrzyca Kłodzka and Częstochowa ( Poland ).
literature
- Alfons Bujard: Ignition goods . Survival Press, Radolfzell 1910, 2002 (repr.), ISBN 3-8311-3948-2 .
- Dr. Hans Hartig: Entertaining things about ignition goods - history, physics & chemistry, entertainment, Phillumenie , VEB Fachbuchverlag Leipzig, 1st edition (1986), ISBN 3-343-00116-3
- Walter Loewe, Arne Jansson, Carl Magnus Rosell: From Swedish Matches to Swedish Match. The Swedish Match Industry 1836-1996 . Wahlström & Widstrand, Stockholm 1997, ISBN 91-46-17290-4 .
- AA Shidlovskii: Основы Пиротехники . Mashinostroyeniye Verlag, Moscow 1973. Translated into English as Principles of Pyrotechnics , Amer Fireworks News; 0th Edition July 1, 1997, ISBN 0929931130
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Pliny the Elder: Naturalis historia. Translated from the Latin by John Bostock & al. tape 35 , chap. 15 (English, full text ).
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Jaime Wisniak: Matches - The Making of Fire . In: Indian Journal of Chemical Technology . No. 12 , 2005, ISSN 0975-0991 , p. 369–380 (English, full text ).
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av Alexander P. Hardt: Pyrotechnics . Pyrotechnica Publications, Post Falls Idaho USA 2001, ISBN 0-929388-06-2 , Matches, pp. 74-84 (English).
- ↑ Charles Darwin: The Ride of the Beagle. Journal of explorations of the natural history and geology of the countries visited on the voyage of HMS Beagle under the command of Captain Robert Fitzroy, RN. Translated from the English by Eike Schönfeld. marebuchverlag, Hamburg 2006, ISBN 978-3-936384-95-6 , 3. Maldonado, p. 76 .
- ^ Charles Darwin: Journal of Researches into the Natural History and Geology of the Countries Visited During the Voyage of HMS Beagle Round the World Under the Command of Captain Fitz Roy, RN D. Appleton and Company, New York 1878, 3. Maldonado, p . 41 (English, full text [PDF]).
- ^ Bryant and May collection of fire-making appliances. Science Museum Group Collection Online, accessed August 19, 2020 .
- ↑ etymologiebank.nl. In: etymologiebank.nl. Retrieved June 14, 2018 .
- ↑ Edmund Jensch: The inventor of the phosphor friction matches. In: Zeitschrift für angewandte Chemie 1894, Issue 9, pp. 268-269.
- ^ Charles Sauria, in Who Invented Matches
- ↑ Matches. ( Memento from September 16, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) In: spiegel.de. , Memento
- ↑ Fiammiferi multicolori
- ↑ Passenger information : lighters, matches and gas burners. Luftfahrt-Bundesamt - higher federal authority within the portfolio of the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI), accessed on September 8, 2019 .
- ^ BGH, judgment of February 28, 1969, Az. VI ZR 222/67, full text ; BGH, judgment of May 17, 1983, Az. VI ZR 263/81 full text .
- ↑ Hermann Ammon (Ed.): Hunnius Pharmaceutical Dictionary . 11th edition, de Gruyter, Berlin 2014, ISBN 978-3-11-030990-4 . Entry: potassium chlorate
- ↑ Wiebke Krabbe (translation from English): Tricky Matchstick Knobeleien - The real challenge for all inventors . Premio Verlag GmbH, Münster 2010, ISBN 978-3-86706-109-4 .
