WASHINGTON, Feb. 23 (UPI) — The fire created by a modern safety match is the product of several chemical reactions happening in tenths of a second, and is shown off in a new super slow-motion video by the American Chemical Society.
The 90-second video stretches the flaming action of a safety match, describing each individual reaction as it lights.
Matches have been used since the 1200s, according to Compound Interest, with sulfur-based matches mentioned in texts from the time, with a process of lighting sulfur matches drawn through phosphorus-soaked paper in the 1600s.
Modern friction-lit matches came into use in the 1800s when the English chemist John Walker combined potassium chlorate, antimony sulfide, gum and starch, igniting them by striking them on sandpaper.
A French chemist replaced the antimony sulfide with white phosphorus, which made the matches easier and more reliable to light. White phosphorus, however, was eventually shown to cause a condition called phossy jaw that often led to brain damage if part of the jaw bone was not removed soon enough. The substance was banned from use in 1906 because of this health hazard.
Other substances, such as white phosphorus exposed to sunlight and turned into red phosphorus, had already been introduced in 1906.
Modern matches no longer contain red phosphorus in the head of the match, however, as it is now mixed with an abrasive substance, such as powdered glass, and applied to the side of the box.
When a match is struck on the box, a small amount of red phosphorus is converted to white phosphorus and ignites, the heat from which ignites potassium chlorate in the match head. The flame is maintained on the match by a mixture of potassium chlorate and other additive chemicals such as paraffin to help it burn easily.
The video, “The Chemistry of Matches (In Super Slow Motion),” shows a modern safety match as it ignites and starts to burn.
