In 1831, Charles Sauria of France developed a match that used white phosphorus. These matches were strike-anywhere matches and were much easier to ignite. Unfortunately, they were too easy to ignite and caused many unintentional fires. White phosphorus also proved to be highly toxic. Workers in match plants who inhaled white phosphorus fumes often suffered from a horrible degeneration of the jawbones known as "phossy jaw." Despite this health hazard, white phosphorus continued to be used in strike-anywhere matches until the early 1900s, when government action in the United States and Europe forced manufacturers to switch to a nontoxic chemical.
In 1844 Gustaf Pasch of Sweden proposed placing some of the match's combustion ingredients on a separate striking surface, rather than incorporating them all into the match head, as an extra precaution against accidental ignition. This idea-coupled with the discovery of less-reactive, nontoxic red phosphorus-led J. E. Lundstrom of Sweden to introduce safety matches in 1855. Although safety matches posed less of a hazard, many people still preferred the convenience of strike-anywhere matches, and both types continue to be used today.
The first matchbook matches were patented in the United States by Joshua Pussey in 1892. The Diamond Match Company purchased the rights to this patent in 1894. At first, these new matches were not well accepted, but when a brewing company bought 10 million matchbooks to advertise their product, sales soared.
Early match manufacturing was mainly a manual operation. Mechanization slowly took over portions of the operation until the first automatic match machine was patented by Ebenezer Beecher in 1888. Modern match manufacturing is a highly automated process using continuous-operation machines that can produce as many as 10 million matches in an eight-hour shift with only a few people to monitor the operation.
Raw MaterialsWoods used to make matchsticks must be porous enough to absorb various chemicals, and rigid enough to withstand the bending forces encountered when the match is struck. They should also be straight-grained and easy to work, so that they may be readily cut into sticks. White pine and aspen are two common woods used for this purpose.Once the matchsticks are formed, they are soaked in ammonium phosphate, which is a fire retardant. This prevents the stick from smoldering after the match has gone out. During manufacture, the striking ends of the matchsticks are dipped in hot paraffin wax. This provides a small amount of fuel to transfer the flame from the burning chemicals on the tip to the matchstick itself. Once the paraffin burns off, the ammonium phosphate in the matchstick prevents any further combustion.
The heads of strike-anywhere matches are composed of two parts, the tip and the base. The tip contains a mixture of phosphorus sesquisulfide and potassium chlorate. Phosphorus sesquisulfide is a highly reactive, non-toxic chemical used in place of white phosphorus. It is easily ignited by the heat of friction against a rough surface. The potassium chlorate supplies the oxygen needed for combustion. The tip also contains powdered glass and other inert filler material to increase the friction and control the burning rate. Animal glue is used to bind the chemicals together, and a small amount of zinc oxide may be added to the tip to give it a whitish color. The base contains many of the same materials as the tip, but has a smaller amount of phosphorus sesquisulfide. It also contains sulfur, rosin, and a small amount of paraffin wax to sustain combustion. A water-soluble dye may be added to give the base a color such as red or blue.
The heads of safety matches are composed of a single part. They contain antimony trisulfide, potassium chlorate, sulfur, powdered glass, inert fillers, and animal glue. They may also include a water-soluble dye. Antimony trisulfide cannot be ignited by the heat of friction, even in the presence of an oxidizing agent like potassium chlorate, and it requires another source of ignition to start the combustion. That source of ignition comes from the striking surface, which is deposited on the side of the matchbox or on the back cover of the matchbook. The striking surface contains red phosphorus, powdered glass, and an adhesive such as gum Arabic or urea formaldehyde. When a safety match is rubbed against the striking surface, the friction generates enough heat to convert a trace of the red phosphorus into white phosphorus. 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.
The ManufacturingProcess
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.Here is a typical sequence of operations for manufacturing wooden-stick matches:
Cutting the matchsticksStripped logs are placed in a peeler, which cuts a sheet about 0.1 in (2.5 mm) thick, called veneer, from the log. 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 50-60 minutes before they are packaged.
Nicolas Cage in Matchstick Men
matchstick men
There is a bonus feature on the "Matchstick Men" DVD called "Tricks of the Trade: Making 'Matchstick Men'". In "Part I: Pre-production," we see a glimpse of the casting/wardrobe fittings for Alison Lohman's character, Angela. During her fitting, costume designer Michael Kaplan put her in the Cardinal Gibbons' t-shirt simply because he loved the look of it. Both the director, Ridley Scott, and the costume designer wanted 'nostalgic' young clothes to play up Lohman's youthful appearance - she was 21 years old when she was cast in the part of a 14 year old.
Work work work and work some more.
Work, Work, Work
no work will be done because force is applied but displacement is zero so no work will be done.
J.E. Lundstrom invented Matchstick..
Matchstick Palace was created in 1931.
Matchstick Sun was created in 1984.
The lyric was "Matchstick men and Matchstick cats and dogs" based on a painting by a Manchester artist.
The duration of Matchstick Men is 1.93 hours.
Matchstick Men was created on 2003-09-12.
Pictures of Matchstick Men was created in 1989.
It depends on how big the matchstick is. The small matches are a small fraction of an inch, and the large matches are about twice the size of small matches.
Nicolas Cage in Matchstick Men
You can find cheap matchstick blinds online from stores such as Target and Kmart. You can also get cheap matchstick blinds from retailers such as Amazon and Overstock.
The only one I can think of is Pictures of Matchstick Men by Status Quo.