Matches are made from a wooden stick (straw) with a head that ignites when rubbed against a spread (grater). This grater is applied to the sides of the matchbox.

Aspen is used as a raw material for making match straws, and less often - linden. To do this, a strip of veneer is removed in a spiral from a round block of bark, cleared of bark, using a special knife, which is then laid in layers and chopped into matchsticks.

When burning a match, it is necessary, firstly, to obtain an unsmoldering ember from the straw, and secondly, to keep the hot slag from the burnt head on it in order to protect the consumer from burns to clothing if hot slag gets on it. In addition, the smoldering ember from the straw naturally poses a fire hazard. To prevent the straw from smoldering and to fix the slag from the head on it, the straw is impregnated with substances that form a film on its surface when burned. Thanks to this film, the combustion of coal stops. The same film secures the slag from the head. Phosphoric acid and its salt - diammonium phosphate (NH 4) 2 HPO 4 - are used as anti-smoldering agents.

To ensure the transition of the flame from the head to the straw, the latter near the head is impregnated with molten paraffin. Matches with non-waxed straws go out almost immediately after the head burns out. Paraffin, on the other hand, ignites easily when the head burns and produces a bright flame.

, of course, can be considered one of the most amazing inventions of mankind. Using this wonderful means of making fire every day, we do not think about how much time and effort was spent on creating these ordinary matches. The tedious method of making fire remained in ancient times. It was replaced by flint and steel. And only in 1844 the world was told about the creation of matches. Between matches and flint, there were many attempts to invent a more convenient and practical means of making fire. Back in 1669, Henning Brand, trying to find the philosopher's stone, obtained a substance that glows in the dark by evaporating a mixture of urine and sand. Later this substance would be called phosphorus. When the English scientist R. Boyle and his assistant G. Haukweitz conducted an experiment by covering paper with phosphorus and running a dry sliver of wood covered with sulfur over it, it burst into flames.

In 1823, Döbereiner created an incendiary apparatus, which was based on the property of detonating gas to ignite in the presence of platinum filings. Another incendiary machine was invented by the Frenchman Chancel. This happened after the invention of potassium chlorate (Berthollet salt) by his compatriot, the famous chemist C. Berthollet. A mixture of potassium chlorate, resin, sugar, sulfur and acacia resin was applied to a wooden stick. When the stick came into contact with a drop of concentrated sulfuric acid, a sudden ignition occurred, which was sometimes explosive. In sunny weather, a match could be lit using a biconvex lens. Such matches were expensive and dangerous because sulfuric acid could cause burns if ignited.

In many countries, efforts have intensified to create matches whose ends are coated with a chemical that will ignite under certain conditions. A more practical option was to ignite a match with light friction. Sulfur was not suitable for this purpose, then they turned their attention to phosphorus, obtained by Brand . Phosphorus was more flammable than sulfur. However, it burned out very quickly, not having time to light the torch. When they started mixing phosphorus with substances that, when heated, released the oxygen necessary for ignition, everything worked out great. Today it is difficult to say, but most likely, the Austrian Irini was the first to propose in 1833 the best recipe for an incendiary mass for the first phosphorus matches, which were easily ignited. They just had to be struck against the wall. Irini offered his recipe to the entrepreneur Remer, who immediately decided to open a match factory.

Realizing that striking matches against the wall or carrying them in a pocket was inconvenient, Roemer decided to pack them in boxes. Rough paper was glued to one side of the box (the paper was first dipped in glue, and then crushed glass or sand was poured onto it). By striking a piece of paper or other rough surface, the match ignited. Having established the production of matches, Roemer earned a lot of money. Soon other manufacturers took up this profitable business, and as a result, phosphorus matches became a popular and cheap product. Over time, several different incendiary mixture compositions were found. The main disadvantage of phosphorus matches was the toxicity of phosphorus. For several months, workers were poisoned by phosphorus fumes; the production of matches was more harmful than even that of hats and mirrors.

In 1847, Schröter discovered amorphous red phosphorus, which was not poisonous. Now the task arose to quickly replace harmful white phosphorus with it. The German chemist Bötcher completed this task before others. Having mixed a mixture of Berthollet salt and sulfur with glue, he applied it to the paraffin-coated splinters. He smeared the surface of the paper with a special composition, which contained a little red phosphorus. The new matches did not produce smoke and burned with an even yellowish flame. The Swedes Lundström began producing matches for the first time in 1851. For a long time, safe, phosphorus-free matches were called “Swedish”. The production and sale of phosphorus matches was eventually completely discontinued.

Matches are a relatively recent invention of mankind; they replaced flint and steel about two centuries ago, when looms were already working, trains and steamships were running. But it was not until 1844 that the creation of safety matches was announced.
Before a match broke out in the hands of a man, many events happened, each of which contributed to the long and difficult path of creating a match. Since time immemorial, fire has played an important role in the development of mankind. The ancient Greek philosophers Plato and his student Aristotle gave fire a special place. Plato studied various natural phenomena and passed on his experience to his students while walking through the park among the trees, which sometimes caught fire from heavenly fire. Plato's ideas about the world formed into a philosophical system that dominated for more than two thousand years. The system of the universe was based on four elements: fire, water, air, earth.
Ancient scientists viewed fire as a phenomenon. but at the same time they completely excluded its practical application.
In Greek mythology, the gods jealously guard fire for themselves. they are in no hurry to give it to people, and moreover, they resist this in every possible way. The mighty Prometheus rescues humanity; he steals fire from Olympus and gives it to people.
The use of fire and the ability to make fire constituted one of the most characteristic features of human culture even in the early stages of development. It is impossible to establish exactly when primitive people began to use fire.
When people learned to make fire, this turned out to be the largest event in the history of mankind, which essentially made man human. Fire warmed man's home, changed the way of cooking, and taught him to smelt iron and copper, gold and silver. The production of the first earthenware and ceramic dishes is due to fire.
The first fire was produced by man in a primitive way - by rubbing two pieces of wood, and the wood dust and sawdust became so hot that they spontaneously ignited.
The wooden sticks were replaced by the famous flint. This is a very simple device: a piece of steel or copper pyrite was struck on flint and sparks were struck, which ignited some flammable substance. It is not surprising, but only a little over 200 years ago in Russia. and throughout the world, steel flint and wick were practically the only “matches” of the man who managed not only to build the Egyptian pyramids, but also to create James Watt’s steam engine. Robert Fulton's first steamboat, looms and many other great inventions, but not matches.


The ancient Greeks and Romans knew another way to make fire - using the sun's rays. focused by a lens or concave mirror. The great ancient Greek scientist Archimedes deftly used this method and, as legend says, set fire to the enemy fleet with the help of a huge mirror.
After 1700, a significant number of means for producing fire were invented, the most interesting of them being the Döbereyer incendiary apparatus, created in 1823. The inventor of the device used the property of detonating gas to ignite in the presence of spongy platinum. However, this device was of little use.
A big step forward in the manufacture of matches was made when phosphorus was discovered and obtained.
The German scientist A. Gankwitz came up with the idea of ​​making sulfur-coated matches that ignite when rubbed against a piece of phosphorus. But this step should have been improved and matches made more convenient for widespread use.
This became possible when the famous French chemist C. Berthollet obtained the potassium chlorate salt KClO3, called Berthollet salt. His compatriot Chancel took advantage of this discovery and invented the so-called French incendiary machines in 1805. Potassium chlorate with sulfur. resin and sugar were applied to a wooden stick, and upon contact with concentrated sulfuric acid, ignition occurred. The reaction sometimes developed very violently and was explosive in nature.
The German Wagemann used Chancel's invention in 1806, but added pieces of asbestos to slow down the combustion process. He later built the first incendiary device factory.


The world's first match appeared in 1826 thanks to the English chemist and pharmacist John Walker. An important role in the birth of the match was played by the discovery of white phosphorus made by a retired soldier from Hamburg, Henning Brand, in 1669. After studying the works of famous alchemists of that time, he decided to get gold. As a result of the experiments, a certain light powder was accidentally obtained. This substance had the amazing property of luminescence, and Brand called it “phosphorus,” which translated from Greek means “luminiferous.”
As for Walker, as often happens, the pharmacist invented matches by accident. In 1826, he mixed chemicals using a stick. A dried drop formed at the end of this stick. To remove it, he struck the floor with a stick. Fire broke out! Like all slow-witted people, he did not bother to patent his invention, but demonstrated it to everyone. A guy named Samuel Jones was present at such a demonstration and realized the market value of the invention. He called the matches “Lucifers” and began selling tons of them, despite the fact that there were some problems associated with “Lucifers” - they smelled bad and, when ignited, scattered clouds of sparks around.
In 1832, dry matches appeared in Vienna. They were invented by L. Trevani; he covered the head of a wooden straw with a mixture of Berthollet salt with sulfur and glue. If you run such a match over sandpaper, the head will ignite, but sometimes this happened with an explosion, and this led to serious burns.
The ways to further improve matches were extremely clear: it was necessary to make the following mixture composition for the match head. so that it lights up calmly. Soon the problem was solved. The new composition included Berthollet salt, white phosphorus and glue. Matches with such a coating could easily ignite on any hard surface, on glass, on the sole of a shoe, on a piece of wood.
The inventor of the first phosphorus matches was a nineteen-year-old Frenchman, Charles Soria. In 1831, a young experimenter added white phosphorus to a mixture of bertholite salt and sulfur to weaken its explosive properties. This idea turned out to be successful, since the matches lubricated with the resulting composition easily ignited when rubbed. The ignition temperature of such matches is relatively low - 30 degrees. The scientist wanted to patent his invention, but for this he had to pay a lot of money, which he did not have. A year later, matches were again created by the German chemist J. Kammerer.
These matches were easily flammable, and therefore caused fires, and besides, white phosphorus is a very toxic substance. Match factory workers suffered from serious illnesses caused by phosphorus fumes.


The problem was solved in 1855 in Sweden. Chemist Johan Lundstrom realized that red is sometimes better than white. The Swede applied red phosphorus to the surface of sandpaper on the outside of a small box and added the same phosphorus to the composition of the match head. Thus, they no longer caused harm to health and were easily ignited on a pre-prepared surface. Safety matches were presented at the International Exhibition in Paris that same year and received a gold medal. From that moment on, the match began its triumphal march around the world. Their main feature was that they did not ignite when rubbed against any hard surface. The Swedish match was lit only if it was rubbed against the side surface of the box, covered with a special mass.
In 1889, Joshua Pusey invented the matchbox, but the patent for this invention was given to the American company Diamond Match Company, which came up with exactly the same one, but with an “incendiary” surface on the outside (for Pusey it was located inside the box).
In 1910, the American company Diamond Match was the first to receive a patent for safe matches. The importance of the invention was so great that US President William Taft publicly addressed the patent holders and asked them to waive their copyright. The company agreed and on January 28, 1911, relinquished all rights to its invention. Now they belong to virtually everyone.


Matches came to Russia in the 30s of the 19th century and were sold for a hundred rubles in silver... Later, the first matchboxes appeared, first wooden, and then tin. Moreover, even then labels were attached to them, which led to the emergence of a whole branch of collecting - phylumenia. The label carried not only information, but also decorated and complemented the matches.
Modern wooden matches are made in two ways: the veneer method (for square-section matches) and the stamping method (for round-section matches). Small aspen or pine logs are either chipped or stamped with a match machine. The matches sequentially pass through five baths, in which a general impregnation with a fire-fighting solution is carried out, a ground layer of paraffin is applied to one end of the match to ignite the wood from the match head, a layer forming the head is applied on top of it, a second layer is applied to the tip of the head, the head is also sprayed with a strengthening solution , protecting it from atmospheric influences. A modern match machine (18 meters long and 7.5 meters high) produces up to 10 million matches in an eight-hour shift.
How does a modern match work? The mass of a match head consists of 60% berthollet salt, as well as flammable substances - sulfur or metal sulfides. In order for the head to ignite slowly and evenly, without an explosion, so-called fillers are added to the mass - glass powder, iron (III) oxide, etc. The binding material is glue.
What does the skin coating consist of? The main component is red phosphorus. Manganese (IV) oxide, crushed glass and glue are added to it.
What processes occur when a match is lit? When the head rubs against the skin at the point of contact, red phosphorus ignites due to the oxygen of Berthollet salt. Figuratively speaking, fire is initially born in the skin. He lights the match head. Sulfur or sulfide flares up in it, again due to the oxygen of Berthollet salt. And then the tree catches fire.


The word “match” itself comes from the plural form of the word “spoke” (a pointed wooden stick). The word originally meant wooden shoe nails, and this meaning of "match" still exists in a number of dialects. The matches used to start fire were initially called “incendiary (or samogar) matches.”
In Russia, 99% of all matches produced are aspen matchsticks. Rubbed matches of various types are the main type of matches throughout the world. Stemless (sesquisulfide) matches were invented in 1898 by French chemists Saven and Caen and are produced mainly in English-speaking countries, mainly for military needs. The basis of the rather complex composition of the head is non-toxic phosphorus sesquisulfide and Berthollet salt.

The invention of matches belongs to 19-year-old Charles Soria in 1831. They were very imperfect matches: explosive and poisonous. A few years later, the Swedish chemist Bepger invented new, safe ones. For a long time, matches were called Swedish. And now our ordinary matches are almost no different from those Swedish ones.

What are matches made of?

Each match consists of a wooden stick - a straw, and an incendiary mass - a head. The best material for straws is aspen. Pine and spruce are not suitable, they contain resin, it can catch fire when drying the straw, and the match will burn unevenly. And aspen ignites easily, burns evenly, does not smoke, does not smoke, and is easy to process. In countries where there is no aspen, matches are made from linden, birch, poplar, alder, even cardboard.

A match head, weighing several milligrams, consists of many precisely dosed, thoroughly mixed substances, each of them has its own functions. Half the mass of the head is oxidizing agents. These are Berthollet salt and potassium chromium. When decomposed, they easily release oxygen. To lower the decomposition temperature of Berthollet salt, a catalyst, manganese dioxide, is added to the composition of the mass. The main flammable substance is sulfur. To prevent the head from burning too quickly and from falling apart, fillers are added to the mass: ground glass, zinc white, and red lead. All this is connected together with glues.

Why do matches burn and burn?

When we strike the head of a match against the wall of the box, a series of chemical reactions begins.

There is a coating applied to the box. It consists of red phosphorus, fillers and glue. During friction, the particles of red phosphorus turn into white, it heats up and lights up at 50 o C. Note that the box, not the match, lights up first. To prevent the spread on the box from burning all at once, phlegmatizers are added to its composition. They absorb some of the generated heat.

Once ignited, white phosphorus ignites the match head. And in a split second several reactions occur in it. First, sulfur interacts with Berthollet salt. At a temperature of about 400 o C, Berthollet salt decomposes, releasing oxygen. Oxygen interacts with sulfur. At 441 o C, sulfur boils and turns into steam. At the same time, glues burn and potassium chromium decomposes. The combustion temperature of the head reaches 1500 o C.

But even at this temperature, the straw would not have caught fire (the head burns too quickly) if the match at the head had not been soaked in paraffin. Already at the beginning of the combustion of the head - at 300 o C - the paraffin flares up and sets fire to the straw. And one more chemical trick - to prevent a burning match from smoldering, it is impregnated with fire retardants - salts of phosphoric acid. At high temperatures they melt and envelop the coal. Air access to the straw stops. The match goes out.

How are matches made?

In winter, aspen is cut down (at this time of year the tree has suitable humidity.) At a match factory, veneer is cut from aspen logs. Of course, you've seen veneer - several layers of it are glued to plywood. Making veneer is not a tricky thing: the block is clamped at the ends and begins to rotate. Then they bring a knife to him - a very long one: along the entire length of the block. The knife presses on it and removes a layer of wood with each revolution. The impression is as if a roll of paper is unwinding - the machine works so quickly.

On the next machine, the veneer is cut lengthwise and crosswise. The result is thin sticks-straws - future matches. A stream of air carries the straw away to the third operation - impregnation with anti-smoldering solutions (fire retardants). The straws then go into a huge rotating drum, where they rub against each other and polish themselves.

Clean, polished straws fall into the hopper of the match machine. This car deserves a more detailed story. It’s amazing that such a machine was built to create a match – it’s as tall as the workshop ceiling, and tens of meters long. And it’s very productive: this giant makes 1,500 thousand matches per hour.

On the way from the bunker to the special ridge system, the matches are strictly oriented. Imagine a long metal strip with grooves. This is the ridge. Straws are placed in the grooves of the comb. They can only lie in one position. A typesetting strip is installed against the ridge: a long metal strip with holes. The grooves in the comb include pushers that push the straw out and push it into the holes in the bar. Look at the match. At the end opposite the head, it bears a trace of this pushing. The stacking strips are flexibly connected and form a conveyor. He takes a step - a new bar approaches the ridges, and the filled one moves on. Along the way, the matches are dipped to a depth of three millimeters in a bath of molten paraffin, cool, and approach the main unit, which makes a match out of the straw, that is, it forms the head.

This is done quite simply. Before the next batch of straws arrives, the dipping plate is lowered into the bath and an incendiary mixture flows onto it. A special device ensures that there is exactly as much mixture on the stove as needed. At the right moment, the slab rises and is pressed against the straw protruding from the inlaid planks. This movement is repeated 4 times, and each time future matches dive to a shallower depth. This forms a regular pear-shaped head.

Then 40 min. matches dry on a conveyor, which looks like a huge hedgehog - matches stick out of it like needles.

At the end of the path, the finished matches are pushed out of the holes in the slats and fall into the cassettes.

Meanwhile, other machines are gluing boxes - internal and external - from the same veneer, only thinner. They are fed to the machines, the hoppers of which already contain matches. The machine measures a certain number of matches. All that remains is to apply the coating to the boxes. A long conveyor belt carries the boxes past brushes half-immersed in baths of solution. Brushes and coat them. The box of matches is ready.

What types of matches are there?

A lot of them. For example, storm matches are produced for fishermen and sailors. They have a huge head - almost the size of a match. It contains a lot of Berthollet salt. These matches can burn even in a 12-point storm. Hunting matches are made for hunters. They also have a large head, but it contains less berthollet salt and more filler. It burns for a long time - 8-10 seconds. With such matches, even an inexperienced tourist will be able to quickly light a fire. Geologists and builders have their own matches - smoldering ones. Their task is to light the fuse of the explosives.

There are also sesquisulfide matches. They can ignite if rubbed against any surface.

And special matches, whose burning temperature is so high that they can weld metal, for example, a telephone cable. There are colored fire matches. If you add some salts to their incendiary mass, they will burn with red, blue, and green fire.

Main article – Miliukov, “UT” 1969/2

The match head has gone through interesting stages of its development. It all started when striking sparks when a stone hit a piece of FeS 2 and igniting charred pieces of wood or plant fibers with them was practically the only way for humans to produce fire.

The first matches based on chemical reactions began to be made at the end of the 18th century. At first, these were wood splinters, on the tip of which potassium chlorate (Berthollet salt KClO 3) and was fixed in the form of a head. Match head was immersed in sulfuric acid, a flash occurred and the splinter caught fire.

The most important stage in the development of chemistry on the way to modern matches was the introduction of a match head into the mass (1833). Such matches were easily lit by friction against a rough surface. However, when burned, they created an unpleasant odor and, most importantly, their production was very harmful to workers. White phosphorus vapors led to a severe disease - phosphorus necrosis of bones.

In 1847, it was found that white phosphorus, when heated in a closed vessel without air access, turns into another modification - . It is much less volatile and practically non-toxic. Soon the white phosphorus in match heads was replaced with red. Such matches were lit only by friction against a special surface made of red phosphorus, glue and other substances.

There are several varieties of modern matches. According to their intended purpose, they distinguish between matches that light under normal conditions, moisture-resistant (designed to ignite after storage in damp conditions), wind matches (lighted in the wind), etc.

When burning a match, for safety reasons, it is necessary to obtain a non-smoldering ember from the straw and keep the hot slag from the burnt head on it. To eliminate the smoldering of the straw and secure the slag from the head, the straw is impregnated with substances that form a film on its surface during combustion. Thanks to this film, the combustion of coal stops. It also secures the slag from the match head. Phosphoric acid and its salt (NH 4) 2 HPO 4 are used as anti-smoldering substances.

To ensure efficient flame transfer from the head to the straw, the latter near the head is impregnated with molten paraffin. Paraffin ignites easily when the head burns and produces a bright flame, which is important when using a match as a light source. In addition, it is safe for storing matches and does not emit soot, smoke or harmful gases when burning.

Over a period of more than 150 years, the chemistry of the match head has a large number of formulations of incendiary masses. They are complex multicomponent systems. They include: oxidizing agents (KClO 3, K 2 Cr 2 O 7, MnO 2), which provide the oxygen necessary for combustion; flammable substances (sulfur, animal and vegetable glues, phosphorus sulfide P 4 S 3); fillers - substances that prevent the explosive nature of combustion of the head (crushed glass, Fe 2 O 3); adhesives (glues), which are also flammable; acidity stabilizers (ZnO, CaCO 3, etc.); substances that color the match mass in a certain color (organic and inorganic dyes).

The temperature of match heads reaches 1500 0 C, and their ignition temperature lies in the range of 180–200 0 C.

Phosphorus (grating) mass is also multicomponent. It is applied to the narrow side outer sides of the matchbox. The composition of the most common grating mass includes: red phosphorus, antimony sulfide (3) Sb 2 S 3, iron lead Fe 2 O 3, pyrolusite MnO 2, chalk CaCO 3, glue.

It should be noted that the reaction that occurs when a match head burns is one of the most violent and dangerous chemical processes. Therefore, handling matches requires respect.