What is matches made of

Smoke, a loud bang and a flash are observed. Lab coat and goggles are recommended. The phosphorus sulfide is easily ignited, the potassium chlorate decomposes to give oxygen, which in turn causes the phosphorus sulfide to burn more vigorously. The head of safety matches are made of an oxidizing agent such as potassium chlorate, mixed with sulfur, fillers and glass powder.

Matchbooks, or books of matches , are small, flip-top containers that can easily fit in a pocket or wallet. The inside contains both the matches and a strip of powdered glass and some combination of adhesives, like formaldehyde and gum arabic. This special formula works with the match head to ignite it when a user scratches the two together. Matchbooks usually contain 24 matches. Box matches, or matchboxes, are bigger than matchbooks in every feasible way.

The boxes are bigger, the matches themselves are longer and more durable, and there is more in the way of quantity. Most matchboxes carry between 50 and matches. Matchboxes are slide-open cases with an outer cardboard sleeve to keep the matches in the inner box dry and clean.

The ignition strip is usually on the outer sleeve. Not everyone needs this many matches. If you only need a few, you can purchase loose matchsticks. Loose matchsticks come in quantities as few as one match per order, but most retailers sell them in multiples of 3 or 5. Tetraphosphorus trisulfide, also known as phosphorous sesquisulfide, is another common ingredient. It's a phosphorous compound free of white phosphorous used in conjunction with or instead of phosphorous sulfide.

Glass powder and a binder round out the list of ingredients in these match heads. If you've ever tried to strike a safety match on sandpaper, you know that it won't ignite. The heads of these matches contain only sulfur, potassium chlorate, fillers and glass powder. When you strike the match on the special surface on the side of the box, however, the heat of friction converts a small amount of the red phosphorous in the surface to white phosphorous, which spontaneously ignites.

The resultant spark starts the potassium chlorate oxidation reaction, and the heat from that reaction ignites the sulfur in the match head. Safety match heads also contain glass powder and a binder. Chris Deziel holds a Bachelor's degree in physics and a Master's degree in Humanities, He has taught science, math and English at the university level, both in his native Canada and in Japan.

He began writing online in , offering information in scientific, cultural and practical topics. His writing covers science, math and home improvement and design, as well as religion and the oriental healing arts.

This immediately reacts with the potassium chlorate in the match head to produce enough heat to ignite the antimony trisulfide and start the combustion. Match boxes and match books are made from cardboard. The finned strips of cardboard used to make the matches in match books are called a comb.

Matches are manufactured in several stages. In the case of wooden-stick matches, the matchsticks are first cut, prepared, and moved to a storage area. When the matchsticks are needed, they are inserted into holes in a long perforated belt. The belt carries them through the rest of the process, where they are dipped into several chemical tanks, dried, and packaged in boxes. Cardboard-stick matches used in match books are processed in a similar manner. Each length is placed in a peeler and rotated while a sharp, flat blade peels a long, thin sheet of wood from the outer surface of the log.

This sheet is about 0. The peeling blade moves inward toward the core of the rotating log until only a small, round post is left. This post is discarded and may be used for fuel or reduced to wood chips for use in making paper or chipboard.

Stripped logs are placed in a peeler, which cuts a sheet about 0. The veneer proceeds to the chopper, which cuts it into small sticks. The sticks are soaked in a dilute solution of ammonium phosphate and dried, removing splinters and crystallized solution. The matches are dumped into a feed hopper, which lines them up. A perforated conveyor belt holds them upside down while they are dipped in a series of three tanks. The matches are dried for minutes before they are packaged.

The chemicals for each portion of the match head are weighed and measured exactly to avoid any variation in the match composition that might affect performance. Operators constantly monitor the operation and visually inspect the product at all stages of manufacture.

In addition to visual inspection and other normal quality control procedures, match production requires strict attention to safety. Considering that there may be more than one million matches attached to the perforated belt at any time means that the working environment must be kept free of all sources of accidental ignition. The use of matches in the United States has steadily declined in the last few decades. This decline is the result of several factors: the availability of inexpensive, disposable lighters; the decrease in the use of tobacco products by the general public; and the development of automatic lighting devices for gas-fired stoves.

Of the matches that are sold, book matches far outsell wooden stick matches because of their advertising value. Worldwide, matches will continue to be in demand for the foreseeable future, although their production will probably follow the demand and migrate to other countries.

Bennett, H.