Match
Encyclopedia : M : MA : MAT : Match
- For other uses, see Match (disambiguation)}}}.
History of the term
Historically, the term match referred to lengths of cord, or later Cambric, impregnated with chemicals, and allowed to burn continuously. These were used to light fires and set off guns and cannon. Such matches were characterised by their burning speed, e.g. quick match and slow match; depending on their formulation, they could provide burning rates of between, typically, 0.01 seconds per linear inch and 40 seconds per linear inch.The modern equivalent of this sort of match is the simple fuse, still used in pyrotechnics to obtain a controlled time delay before ignition. The original meaning of the word still persists in some pyrotechnics terms, e.g. black match, a black powder-impregnated fuse, or Bengal matches, a type of firework producing a relatively long-burning, coloured flame. When friction matches were developed, however, they eventually came to be the dominant meaning of the term.
History of the modern match
A predecessor of the match, small sticks of pinewood impregnated with sulfur, was developed in China in 577.The first modern, self-igniting match was invented in 1805 by K. Chancel, assistant to Professor L. J. Thénard of Paris. The head of the match consisted of a mixture of potassium chlorate, sulfur, sugar, and rubber. They were ignited by dipping the tip of the match in a small asbestos bottle filled with sulfuric acid. This kind of match was quite expensive and its usage was dangerous, so Chancel's matches never gained much popularity.
Friction matches
The first friction match was invented by English chemist John Walker in 1827. Early work had been done by Robert Boyle in the 1680s with phosphorus and sulfur, but his efforts had not produced useful results. Walker discovered a mixture of antimony (III) sulfide, potassium chlorate, gum, and starch could be ignited by striking against any rough surface. Walker called the matches congreves, but the process was patented by Samuel Jones and the matches were sold as lucifers. The early matches had a number of problems -- the flame was unsteady and the initial reaction was disconcertingly violent; additionally the odour produced by the burning match was unpleasant. The smell is described as a "firework" odour. Despite these problems, the new matches were responsible for a marked increase in the number of smokers. Lucifers reportedly could ignite explosively, sometimes throwing sparks at a considerable distance.
In 1831, Frenchman Charles Sauria added white phosphorus to remove the smell. These new matches had to be kept in an airtight box but were popular. Unfortunately, those involved in the manufacture of the new matches were afflicted with "phossy-jaw" and other bone disorders, and there was enough white phosphorus in one pack to kill a person. There was a vociferous campaign to ban these matches once the dangers became known.
Noiseless matches
The match was invented in 1836 by the Hungarian János Irinyi who was a student of chemistry. In 1836 an unsuccessful experiment by his professor, Meissner, gave Irinyi the idea to replace potassium chlorate with lead dioxide in the head of phosphorous match. He liquefied phosphorus in (warm) water and shook it in a glass foil, until it became granulated. He mixed the phosphorus with lead and gummi arabicum, poured the paste-like mass into a jar, and dipped the pine sticks into the mixture and let them dry. When he tried them that evening, all of them lit evenly. Irinyi thus invented the "noiseless" safety match and sold the invention to István Rómer, a match manufacturer. Rómer, a rich Hungarian pharmacist living in Vienna, bought the invention and production rights from Irinyi, the poor student, for 60 Forints. The production of matches was now fully underway. István Rómer became rich off Irinyi's invention, but Irinyi himself died poor and abandoned in Vértes.Reformulation to remove white phosphorus
The early matches, including the "Noiseless match", were dangerous to both the users and the people making them. This was due to the use of white phosphorus.The search for a replacement for white phosphorus led to what was known as the safety match. However, this term is now confusing as it covers both the modern safety match and the modern strike anywhere match. These two different types of matches are discussed separately below.
Both of these types of matches were more expensive to make than white phosphorus-based matches; and customers continued to buy white-phosphorus based matches. Laws prohibiting the use of white phosphorus in matches generally had to be passed before these safer types of matches came into widespread usage. Finland banned white-phosphorus based matches in 1872; Denmark in 1874; Sweden in 1879; Switzerland in 1881 and Holland in 1901.
An agreement, the Berne Convention, was reached at Berne, Switzerland, in 1906 to prohibit the use of white phosphorus in matches. This required each country to pass laws prohibiting the use of white phosphorus in matches. Great Britain passed a law in 1908 prohibiting its use in matches after 31 December 1910. The USA did not pass a law, but instead placed a punitive tax on white-phosphorus based matches in 1913. India and Japan banned them in 1919; and China in 1925.
Safety matches
The safety match was invented in 1844 by the Swede Gustaf Erik Pasch and improved by John Edvard Lundström a decade later.
Their safety is due to the separation of the combustible ingredients between the match head and a special striking surface, and the replacement of white phosphorus with red phosphorus. The striking surface is composed of powdered glass and red phosphorus, and the match head was composed of antimony(III) sulfide and potassium chlorate. The act of striking converts some of the red phosphorus to white by friction heat. The small amount of white phosphorus then ignites, and this starts the combustion of the match head.
The two Lundstrom brothers had obtained a sample of red phosphorus from Arthur Albright at The Great Exhibition, held at The Crystal Palace in 1851, and made safety matches with it. They misplaced the matches and did not try them until just before the Paris Exhibition of 1855. They were still usable.
The Swedes long held a virtual world-wide monopoly on safety matches, with the industry mainly situated in Jönköping. They sold their French safety match Patent to Coigent père & Fils of Lyon, but Coigent contested the payment in the French courts, on the basis that the invention was known in Vienna before the Lundström brothers patented it. The British match manufacturer Bryant and May visited Jönköping in 1858 to try to obtain a supply of safety matches but were unsuccessful. In 1862 they set up their own factory and bought the rights for the British safety match Patent from the Lundström brothers.
Safety matches are classed as Dangerous goods, U.N. 1994, and are not forbidden on aircraft, but must be declared as Dangerous Goods.
Strike-anywhere matches
Two French chemists, Savene and Cahen developed a safety match using phosphorus sesquisulfide and proved that phosphorus sesquisulfide was not poisonous, it could be used in a "strike anywhere" match and the match heads were not explosive. They patented a safety match composition in 1898 based on phosphorus sesquisulfide and potassium chlorate. Albright and Wilson developed a safe means of making commercial quantities of phosphorus sesquisulfide in 1899 and started selling it.In 1901 Albright and Wilson starting making phosphorus sesquisulfide at their Niagara Falls plant, in the USA, but American manufacturers continued to use white phosphorus based matches. The Niagara Falls plant stopped making it until 1910, when the US government made the use of white phosphorus matches illegal and cancelled the US patent on phosphorus sesquisulfide based safety matches.
Strike-anywhere matches are classed as Dangerous goods, U.N. 1331, and are forbidden on aircraft.
Matchbooks
The development of a specialised matchbook with both matches and a striking surface did not occur until 1890s with the American Joshua Pusey who later sold his patent to the Diamond Match Company. The Diamond Match Company was later bought by Bryant and May.
The hobby of collecting match-related items, such as matchcovers and matchbox labels is called phillumenism.
Fires due to lit matches
- The Cocoanut Grove was a nightclub in Boston, Massachusetts. On November 28, 1942, the nightclub burned in what remains the deadliest nightclub fire in United States history, killing 492 people and injuring hundreds more. An artificial palm tree caught fire when 16-year-old busboy Stanley Tomaszewski struck a match for illumination while changing a light bulb. The case was reopened in 1997, and it was determined that the flash fire was accelerated by methyl chloride leaking from a faulty refrigerator near the Melody Lounge.
- The King's Cross fire was a devastating underground fire in London on November 18, 1987, which killed 31 people. It was caused by rubbish and grease beneath wooden escalators being ignited, probably by a discarded match.
See also
External links
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