Have you ever had a problem getting a match to light? If so, you might be using the wrong type of match. There are actually two different types of matches: safety matches and strike-anywhere matches.
以前你点燃火柴时有没有点不着的时候呢？如果答案是肯定的，说明你可能没有用对火柴。目前有两种不同的火柴：安全火柴，和那一种在哪里划一下都可以点燃的火柴。
Safety
安全问题
Safety matches are the kind that light only when struck on the striking surface on the side of a matchbox. A striking surface consists of sand, powdered glass, and a chemical called red phosphorus. The tip of a safety match is made of glass powder, sulfur, and an oxidizing agent–a chemical necessary to keep a flame burning.
所谓安全火柴，指的就是那种只有在火柴盒表面特定的，某一个可以划燃火柴的区域上才能点燃的火柴。这样的易燃表面是由沙子、玻璃粉、和一种叫做红磷的化学物质构成。而火柴头是由玻璃粉，硫磺和一种氧化剂组成 - 这种氧化剂则是保持火苗能持续燃烧的必需化学物质。
When a safety match scrapes against a striking surface, the glass powder on the striking surface and match head rub together, creating enough heat to turn a bit of the red phosphorus on the striking surface into white phosphorus. The white phosphorus ignites in air, passing ignition across to the match head.
当你用一根安全火柴去摩擦这个易燃的表面时，表面的玻璃粉和火柴头相互摩擦，然后产生出了足够的热量，该热量可以使得易燃表面的红磷转化成为白磷。白磷在空气中会进行燃烧，然后就点燃了火柴头。
Chemical Reaction
化学反应
This starts a chemical reaction that uses the oxidizing agent on the match to produce oxygen gas. Combined with the heat, the oxygen gas causes the sulfur to catch fire, which then spreads to the wood of the match. A strike anywhere match works almost the same way, except the red phosphorus is included in the match head. So, a strike anywhere match can be lit by striking the match against any hard surface.
这个过程中引发了一场化学反应，在这个反应中火柴上的氧化剂产生了氧气。与足够的热量相混合后，氧气引发硫磺着火，之后火苗就会逐渐延伸到火柴另一端的木制部分。那种在任何地方都能点燃的火柴，和这种安全火柴的工作原理都是基本相同的，但是这种火柴的火柴头上就含有红磷。因此，只要将这种火柴的火柴头与硬物表面进行摩擦就可以燃烧。 |