What Are Safety Matches?

Matches were a common item used in people's lives in the past. There are two types of matchsticks, paper-made and wood-made. Wooden matchsticks are generally made from five or six kinds of wood such as poplar and walnut. What are safety matches? Let Nanle Ark help you learn about it!

Safety matches must be struck on the matchbox to ignite

Even if the match head is struck with a hammer, it will not ignite. The earliest matches would ignite at the slightest touch and rub against any rough surface. Even if a mouse gnawed on the match head, it would ignite and explode when hit with a hammer. The ignition principle of safety matches is that a chemical substance on the match reacts with a chemical substance on the matchbox. The heat generated by striking the match triggers this chemical reaction. If the match head does not come into contact with the rubbing surface, the match will not ignite.

The precursor to modern matchsticks was invented by British pharmacist and chemist in 1827, but it was not very reliable. In 1830, Frenchman invented matches with yellow phosphorus, which made better matches. These matches are called friction matches and were in use until the end of the 19th century.

Safety matches are very reliable and convenient to store

However, they have a major drawback, which is that they can be deadly. Toxic smoke is released when yellow phosphorus burns, and long-term exposure can cause a disease called phosphorus necrosis of the jaw, where the jawbone rots and ultimately leads to death. Match factory workers are the most affected. Yellow phosphorus was banned from match manufacturing in the late 20th century and replaced with tetraphosphorus trisulfide.

In the mid-1950s, Swedish manufacturer Lundström separated phosphorus from other flammable components and created safety matches. He coated the matchbox's rubbing surface with non-toxic red phosphorus, while other components were hidden inside the matchbox. Nowadays, matches are made by automated machines. The production rate is up to 2 million pieces per hour, and the matches are packaged in boxes for storage. Standard matchsticks are made by cutting the original wood into small sticks, each about 2.5 millimeters thick, and then cutting them into matchsticks. They are then soaked in ammonium carbonate to ensure that the matchsticks will not smolder.

The above is F-Zero's answer to the question of what a safety match is. We hope that the above article will give you a clearer understanding of this issue! If you want to learn more about safety matches, please follow Nanle Ark for more related knowledge!