How were matches made before and how are they made today? Swedish matches

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

The invention of matches is not so many years old. There is no comparison with the age of mankind. Meanwhile, the question of their invention is almost a question of taming fire. The need to make fire become a pocketable, wearable option, extract and flare up if necessary, probably arose quickly - after all, getting it and maintaining the hearth "in working condition" was a vital, but very tedious and troublesome task for ancient people.

The very first matches

Today we know how the ancient people got the flame. They rubbed pieces of wood against each other until they turned into smoldering dust. Then suitable stones were found, which, when struck, struck sparks.

The ancient Romans and Greeks used concave lenses. On a sunny day, they focused beams that heated a suitable material until it ignited.

But some semblance of the first matches appeared only among the medieval Chinese. According to manuscript sources of the 13th century, they used thin chips with tips, on which sulfur was applied. But these sticks did not serve to produce fire, but only to facilitate the process of kindling the flame. Fire in those days was obtained with the help of tinder and flint.

Some time later, when the Chinese novelty penetrated Europe, these sulphurs began to be used there as well. However, not for long: the subsequent discoveries in chemistry improved them so much that they lost their original purpose and began to serve directly for the production of fire.

Let's consider the history of matches in more detail.

Gankwitz, Chansel & Walker

In the absence of patent law, today we can name scientists, but who was the first to invent these fire sticks? European powers contested the rights to a variety of discoveries - and some inventions appeared almost simultaneously. Science did not stand still.

The German scientist Hankwitz, at the end of the 17th century, managed to achieve the appearance of a flame by rubbing a stick with a sulfur head on a piece of phosphorus. But, as usual, all innovations have their drawbacks, sometimes quite destructive or dangerous to he alth. Hankwitz matches burned little and exploded when ignited.

And in 1805 the Frenchman Jean Chancel invented another match modification - "an incendiary device". Resin with added sulfur and bartholite s alt was applied to a stick. It was enough to dip this stick in sulfuric acid and - voila! - here's the fire. But who would carry concentrated acid with them? In addition, the reaction of the components of the mixture was so violent that it threatened the firemaker with serious burns.

A 1826was marked by the appearance of a kind of almost real match. The Englishman John Walker, an apothecary by trade, once mixed chemicals and started a fire by accidentally striking an emery board with a stick, the end of which was coated with a mixture of a sulfur compound, bertolet s alt and acacia gum.

Such an invention could bring commercial benefits, but the slow-witted Walker did not bother to obtain a patent and demonstrated his experience to everyone.

Lucifers

And Samuel Jones intercepted the baton - he reduced the length of the stick, gave the new product the name "Lucifer", set up production and organized sales. Matches were packed in tin boxes and sold in packs of 100.

However, as before, a mixture of potassium chlorate (as chemists called Bertolet's s alt) with sulfur was unpredictable in handling - fire sticks were sensitive to friction and shock, which threatened with explosions and, at least, a scattering of sparks. In addition, when they were used, smoke was harmful to the respiratory system.

The appearance of non-exploding matches

Unfortunately, the resourceful French boy Charles Soria could not find 1500 francs to patent his invention. His family was poor and there was no place to get money. But it is Soria who has the honor of inventing self-igniting torches. Observing school experiments and experimenting at his own peril and risk, one day he struck a torch on the wall, on which phosphorus was smeared, with bartholite s alt and sulfur applied to it. The splinter immediately flared up.

New in this invention was that now the matches did not explode. All that was needed was a surface treated with phosphorus.

And a year later, in 1831, self-igniting torches were "invented" again, this time officially, by the German Kammerer, and in 1836 - with an additional lead oxide coating - by the Hungarian Janos Irini.

Swedish matches

So, the necessary components in the production of fire sticks were applied not to its head, but to the surface of the box. But they still used white phosphorus, which was poisonous. The statistics of that time showed an excess of diseases and deaths among workers in match factories.

Swede Johan Lundström in 1855 proposed to get rid of poisonous white phosphorus both in the composition of the head and in the sticker, replacing it with red. He was also combustible, but not poisonous. This is how Swedish matches were born.

In addition, the sticks themselves were additionally impregnated with ammonium phosphate. What did it give? After attenuation, they did not smolder, as it was before, and did not ignite spontaneously - which means that they ceased to be a fire hazard.

These Swedish matches can be considered the prototypes of modern ones. Their production was not particularly costly and safe, which made it possible for Sweden of that time to turn into a real match empire. And Lundstrem was subsequently awarded a medal at the World Exhibition held in Paris.

In Russia

In the 30s XIXcentury, the price of matches for 100 pieces was a ruble in silver. And the packaging for them was made of wood or tin.

But only by the end of the 19th century, a small colorful picture was stuck on each box of matches. The themes of the labels were varied, and over time they became the subject of collections of a special kind of collectors - phylumenists.

How are matches made today? In Russia, they were made and are made of aspen. But in terms of the chemical composition of the head, it is practically the same Swedish match: it includes sulfur, berthollet s alt, manganese oxide and glass powder. The components have changed somewhat so that the stick does not flare up, quickly extinguishing, but burns as slowly as possible.

Today matches are produced for a variety of needs. For example, gas and fireplace - in order to make it more convenient to light the burner of a gas stove or fireplace. Signal matches give a bright and noticeable flame from afar. Photographic ones flash brightly, but also burn out instantly. Household products are available in large packages. There are matches designed for lighting cigars and pipes. There are also specially designed for hunters - they are not afraid of rain or wind and light up in the most extreme weather conditions.

The price of matches currently averages 1 ruble for a regular box (40 pieces, for household needs) or 20 rubles (large format boxes, 500 pieces). From 29 to 35 rubles (depending on the length of the product) there are matches for lighting gas burners, ovens and fireplaces. That's about the same price for cigars, butfilling the box is less - 20 pieces. For the same number of long-burning matches intended for outdoor enthusiasts, you will have to pay from 80 to 100 rubles.

We talked about how matches were and are made.