Matches have been one of the most important elements of human life for many decades, and even today they play an important role in our everyday life. Usually, when we strike a match on a box, we don’t even think about what chemical reactions are occurring at that second and how much ingenuity and effort people have put into having such a convenient means of making fire.

Ordinary matches are undoubtedly one of the most amazing inventions of the human mind. To be convinced of this, it is enough to remember how much effort it took to start a fire in the old days.

True, our ancestors abandoned the tedious method of extracting fire by friction back in ancient times. In the Middle Ages, a more convenient device for this purpose appeared - a flint, but even with it, lighting a fire required a certain skill and effort. When steel struck flint, a spark was struck, which fell on tinder impregnated with saltpeter. The tinder began to smolder. By attaching a piece of paper, shavings or any other kindling to it, the fire was fanned. Fanning the spark was the most unpleasant part of this activity. But was it possible to do without it? Someone came up with the idea of ​​dipping a dry splinter into molten sulfur. As a result, a sulfur head formed at one tip of the splinter. When the head was pressed against the smoldering tinder, it flared up. It set the whole sparkle on fire. This is how the first matches appeared.

It must be said that throughout their entire previous history, people tried to get fire using mechanical influences - friction or impact. With this approach, the sulfur match could only play an auxiliary role, since it was impossible to directly produce fire with its help, because it did not ignite either from impact or from friction. But at the end of the 18th century, the famous chemist Berthollet proved that flame can be the result of a chemical reaction. In particular, if you drop sulfuric acid onto potassium hypochlorite (Bertholtol's salt), a flame will appear. This discovery made it possible to approach the problem of making fire from a completely different angle. In different countries, many years of research have begun to create matches with the end smeared with one or another chemical substance that can ignite under certain conditions.

In 1812, Chapselle invented the first self-lighting matches, which were still very imperfect, but with their help it was possible to produce a flame much faster than with a flint. Chapselle's matches were wooden sticks with a head made of a mixture of sulfur, berthollet salt and cinnabar (the latter served to color the incendiary mass a beautiful red color). In sunny weather, such a match was lit using a biconvex lens, and in other cases - by contact with a drop of concentrated sulfuric acid. These matches were very expensive and, in addition, dangerous, since sulfuric acid sprayed when the head was ignited and could cause burns. It is clear that they are not widely used. Matches with heads that ignite with light friction should have become more practical. However, sulfur was not suitable for this purpose.

They were looking for another flammable substance and then they paid attention to white phosphorus, discovered in 1669 by the German alchemist Brand. Brand obtained phosphorus while trying to create the philosopher's stone by evaporating a mixture of sand and urine. Phosphorus is much more flammable than sulfur, but not everything worked out right away with it. At first, the matches were difficult to light, since the phosphorus burned out too quickly and did not have time to ignite the torch. Then they began to apply it over the head of an old sulfur match, assuming that sulfur would ignite faster from phosphorus than wood. But these matches also lit poorly. Things started to improve only after they began to mix phosphorus with substances that, when heated, could release the oxygen necessary for ignition.

The next version of chemical matches, lit by contact of a head made of a mixture of sugar and potassium perchlorate with sulfuric acid, appeared in Vienna. In 1813, the first match factory in Austria-Hungary, Mahliard & Wik, was registered here for the production of chemical matches. A version of this match was used by Charles Darwin, who bit through the glass of a flask containing acid and risked getting burned.

By the time the production of sulfur matches began (1826) by the English chemist and pharmacist John Walker, chemical matches were already quite widespread in Europe. The heads in John Walker's matches consisted of a mixture of antimony sulfide, berthollet salt and gum arabic (gum - a viscous liquid secreted by acacia). When such a match was rubbed against sandpaper (grater) or another fairly rough surface, its head easily ignited. Walker's matches were a yard long. They were packed in tin cases of 100 pieces. The main disadvantage of the Walker and Soria matches was the instability of the ignition of the match handle - the burning time of the head was very short. In addition, these matches had a terrible smell and sometimes lit with an explosion. Perhaps this is why Walker did not make much money from his invention.

Now it is difficult to say who was the first to come up with a successful recipe for an incendiary mass for phosphorus matches. According to one version, it was developed in 1830 by 19-year-old French chemist Charles Soria. His matches consisted of a mixture of Berthollet salt, white phosphorus and glue. These matches were very flammable, since they caught fire even from mutual friction in the box and when rubbing against any hard surface, for example, the sole of a boot. At that time, there was even an English joke in which a whole match said to another, half-burnt one: “See how your bad habit of scratching the back of your head ends!”

According to another version, it was the Austrian Irini. In 1833, he proposed the following method for making matches to the entrepreneur Roemer: “You need to take some hot glue, preferably gum arabic, throw a piece of phosphorus into it and shake the bottle with glue vigorously. In hot glue, vigorous agitation will break the phosphorus into small particles. They adhere so closely to the glue that a thick, whitish liquid is formed. Next, you need to add finely ground lead peroxide powder to this mixture. All this is stirred until a uniform brown mass is obtained. First you need to prepare sulfur, that is, splinters whose ends are covered with sulfur. The sulfur needs to be covered with a layer of phosphorus mass on top. To do this, sulfur is dipped into the prepared mixture. Now all that remains is to dry them. Thus, matches are obtained. They ignite very easily. You just have to hit them against the wall.”

This description made it possible for Roemer to open a match factory. He, however, understood that carrying matches in his pocket and striking them against the wall was inconvenient and came up with the idea of ​​packing them in boxes, on one side of which they glued rough paper (they prepared it simply - dipped it in glue and poured sand or crushed glass onto it). When struck against such paper (or any rough surface), the match ignited. Having established a trial production of matches to begin with, Roemer then expanded production forty times - so great was the demand for his product, and he earned huge money from the production of matches. Other manufacturers followed his example, and soon phosphorus matches became a popular and cheap commodity in all countries.

Gradually, several different compositions of incendiary mass were developed. Already from Irini’s description it is clear that the head of the phosphorus match included several components, each of which performed its own functions. First of all, there was phosphorus, which played the role of an igniter. Substances that release oxygen were mixed into it. In addition to the rather dangerous bertholet salt, manganese peroxide or red lead could be used in this role, and in more expensive matches, lead peroxide, which was generally the most suitable material.

Less flammable substances were placed under a layer of phosphorus, transferring the flame from the igniter to a wooden splinter. It could be sulfur, stearin or paraffin. To ensure that the reaction did not proceed too quickly and the wood had time to heat up to the combustion temperature, neutral substances were added, for example, pumice or powdered glass. Finally, glue was mixed into the mass in order to connect all the other components. When the head rubbed against a rough surface, heat arose at the point of contact, sufficient to ignite nearby phosphorus particles, which ignited others. In this case, the mass became so hot that the body containing oxygen decomposed. The released oxygen contributed to the ignition of the flammable substance that was under the head (sulfur, paraffin, etc.). From him the fire was transferred to the tree.

The first phosphorus matches were brought to Russia in 1836, they were expensive - a silver ruble per hundred.

The big disadvantage of phosphorus matches was the toxicity of phosphorus. In match factories, workers quickly (sometimes within several months) were poisoned by phosphorus fumes and became unable to work. The harmfulness of this production exceeded even mirror and hat production. In addition, a solution of an incendiary mass in water produced a powerful poison, which was used by suicides (and often murderers).

In 1847, Schröter discovered non-toxic amorphous red phosphorus. Since that time, there was a desire to replace dangerous white phosphorus with it. The famous German chemist Bötcher was the first to solve this problem. He prepared a mixture of sulfur and bertholet salt, mixing them with glue, and applied it to the splinters coated with paraffin. But, alas, it turned out to be impossible to light these matches on the rough surface. Then Boettcher came up with the idea of ​​lubricating the piece of paper with a special composition containing a certain amount of red phosphorus. When a match was rubbed against such a surface, the particles of red phosphorus ignited due to the particles of the berthollet salt of the head touching them and ignited the latter. The new matches burned with an even yellow flame. They did not produce either smoke or that unpleasant odor that accompanied phosphorus matches. However, Boettcher's invention did not initially interest the manufacturers. And only in 1851, “safety matches” according to Bechter’s recipe began to be produced by the Lundström brothers from Sweden. Therefore, phosphorus-free matches have long been called “Swedish”. In 1855, these matches were awarded a medal at the World Exhibition in Paris. Once “safety” matches became widespread, many countries banned the production and sale of matches made from poisonous white phosphorus.

Limited production of white phosphorus matches continued only in England, Canada and the USA, mainly for army purposes, and also (until 1925) in some Asian countries. In 1906, the international Berne Convention was adopted, prohibiting the use of white phosphorus in the production of matches. By 1910, the production of phosphorus matches in Europe and America had completely ceased.

At the end of the 19th century, matchmaking became Sweden's "national sport". In 1876, 38 match factories were built in this country, and a total of 121 factories were operating. However, by the beginning of the 20th century, almost all of them either went bankrupt or merged into large concerns.

Currently, matches manufactured in most European countries do not contain sulfur and chlorine compounds - paraffins and chlorine-free oxidizers are used instead.

Today we are talking about ordinary matches. It would seem so simple, but people have been moving towards their current form for a very long time. Before the advent of matches, people were forced to find all sorts of ways to make fire. The main thing has long been the friction of wood against each other; with prolonged work, a fire appeared. It was also possible to ignite dry grass or paper with a sunbeam through a kind of lens or glass, or to knock out sparks with silicon or other similar stones. Then it was important to keep the fire going and keep it going. Pieces of coal were often used for this.

The world's first matches - makanka matches

And only at the end of the 18th century everything changed. Claude Berthollet, a French chemist, as a result of experiments, obtained a substance that was later named Berthollet salt in his honor. As a result, in 1805 in Europe, people saw the so-called “makanka” matches. These were thin splinters with heads that were smeared with Berthollet salt. They were lit after dipping in a solution of concentrated sulfuric acid.

Matches with Berthollet salt produced at the factory

But the first real matches that did not require dipping appeared thanks to the English chemist and pharmacist John Walker. In 1827, he established that if a mixture of antimony sulfide, berthollet salt and gum arabic is applied to the tip of a wooden stick, and then the stick is dried in air, then when the resulting match is rubbed on sandpaper, it easily ignites. That is, there was no longer any need to carry a bottle of concentrated sulfuric acid with you (just imagine). D. Walker created a small factory to produce his matches. He packed them in tin cases of 100 pieces each. These matches also had a significant drawback: they smelled very bad. The improvement of matches began.

In 1830, 19-year-old French chemist Charles Soria invented phosphorus matches. Their flammable part contained berthollet salt, phosphorus and glue. These matches were very convenient: for them to ignite, all they needed was friction on almost any hard surface, even the sole of a shoe. Soria's matches had no smell, but even here, not everything was smooth. The fact is that these matches were harmful to health, because white phosphorus is poisonous.

Matches take on a modern look

Later, in 1855, another chemist, Johan Lundstrom from Sweden, decided to use red phosphorus. He applied it to the surface of the sandpaper, but placed it on a small box, and then introduced red phosphorus from the composition and the head of the match. It is safe for humans and the problem has been solved.

The appearance of the matchbox

And in 1889, Joshua Pusey invented the matchbox we are all familiar with. But his invention was a little unusual for us: the incendiary surface was located inside the box. Therefore, the American company Diamond Match Company managed to patent the box, which placed such a surface on the outside, which was undoubtedly much more convenient.
As for us, phosphorus matches were first brought to Russia from Europe in 1836, the price for them was a silver ruble per hundred, which was then relatively expensive. And the first Russian match factory was created in St. Petersburg in 1837.

A light is instantly born from a simple small stick. But the fact of the matter is that the match is not a simple stick at all, but a stick with a secret. And its secret is in its small brown head. He struck the brown head against the box and a flame flared up.

Try rubbing your palm against your palm. Do you feel how warm your palms have become? That's the match. She also becomes warm from the friction, even hot.

But for a tree to catch fire, this heat is not enough. But the flammable head is quite enough. It lights up even with slight heating. Therefore, you don’t need to rub the match against the box for a long time, just strike it, and it will flare up once. And then a wooden stick lights up from the head.

When did matches appear?

Matches were invented about 200 years ago. In 1833, the first match factory was built. Until this time, people made fire differently.

First lighter

In ancient times, many people carried in their pockets a piece of iron - flint, a hard stone - flint, and a wick - tinder. Chirp-chirk flint on flint. Once again, again, again and again... Sparks kept falling. Finally, a lucky spark ignites the tinder and it begins to smolder. Why not a lighter? Only instead of one single item, as it is now, the ancient lighter consisted of three items. The lighter also contains a pebble, a piece of steel - a wheel, and tinder - a wick soaked in gasoline.

A match is also a lighter

And a match is also a lighter. Small, thin, very convenient lighter. She also flares up from friction. The rough side of the box is its flint. And the flammable head is both flint and tinder.

Making fire is a very difficult task. People have always come up with different devices for making fire. But no matter what trick people come up with when trying to start a fire, friction has always been an indispensable condition for getting fire.

At first, matches were harmful and dangerous:

• were ignited only by caustic acid;
• the heads of others had to be crushed first with special tweezers;
• the third matches looked like tiny bombs. They did not catch fire, but exploded with a bang. These are phosphorus matches. When ignited, poisonous sulfur dioxide was formed;
• At one time, huge and complex glass devices were used as matches. The devices were very expensive and inconvenient to use, and besides, all these matches smoked a lot...

More recently, about 100 years ago, “Swedish” matches were invented, which we still use today. These are the safest and cheapest matches ever invented by man. This is the history of the creation of matches.

Types of matches

Travelers, geologists, and climbers take signal matches with them on hikes. Each one burns with a small torch. It is bright and burns with a multi-colored torch: red, blue, green, yellow. It can be seen from afar.

Sailors have huge wind matches in stock. Their strong flame does not go out even in the violent sea wind.

During the Great Patriotic War, our soldiers had huge ignition matches. They set fire to bottles with a flammable mixture.

That's how much benefit a match has! She will light a gas stove, build a fire in the field, give a signal, and destroy an enemy tank. A match in good hands will do many good deeds. But if suddenly it falls into the wrong hands, then there will be no misfortunes. In this regard, it is necessary to explain to children how dangerous playing with matches is.

The biggest match in the world

On August 21, 2004, the longest match in the world was made and lit in Estonia. It is 20,000 times larger than our ordinary match. Its length is more than 6 meters. The match was lifted by a cargo lift.

And there was a time when simple matches had not yet been invented.To stay warm by the fire or cook meat, you need fire. But where can I get it? What about a thunderstorm? Lightning ignites a tree, and there you have a fire. Take a smoldering firebrand, take it home to the cave and make a fire there.People kept this “heavenly fire” as the most valuable treasure and never let it go out. And then they learned to make fire without a thunderstorm.They will take a dry, harder board, a stronger, dry stick, and drier grass. They insert the stick into the hollow of the board and begin to rotate it in their palms with all their might. Seven sweats will be shed while the grass begins to smolder. Then it’s easier: blow on it and it will burst into flames.

Primitive man produced fire by friction. Using a belt, he rotated a stick placed on a piece of dry wood. In order for wood to catch fire, it must be very hot. That is, to get fire you need to rub one stick against another for a very long time and hard. And how easy and simple it has become to start a fire these days thanks to the invention of the match!