A gyufát 1827-ben John Walker találta fel. Irinyi János találmánya zajtalan és robanásmentes gyufa (1836. A gyufa fejében a foszfort nem káliumkloráttal, hanem ólomdioxiddal keverte) .
A gyufa teljes története jól le van írva itt. (Sajnálatos, hogy a Wikipedia a gyufával kapcsolatban meg sem említi Irinyi János nevét)
Idzet a lapról:
The Friction Match
The first friction matches were invented by John Walker, an English chemist & apothecary, whose ledger of April 7, 1827, records the first sale of such matches. Walker's "Friction Lights" had tips coated with a potassium chloride-antimony sulfide paste, which ignited when scraped between a fold of sandpaper. He never patented them. Nonphosphoric friction matches were being made by G.E. Merkel of Paris and J. Siegal of Austria, among others, by 1832, by which time the manufacture of friction matches was well established in Europe.
In 1831 Charles Sauria of France incorporated white, or yellow, phosphorus in his formula, an innovation quickly and widely copied. In 1835, Jŕnos Irinyi of Hungary replaced potassium chlorate with lead oxide and obtained matches that ignited quietly and smoothly.
The Safety Match
The discovery by the Austrian chemist Anton von Schrötter in 1845 of red phosphorus, which is nontoxic and is not subject to spontaneous combustion, led to the safety match, with its separation of the combustion ingredients between the match head and the special striking surface. J.E. Lundström of Sweden patented this method in 1855.
Although safety matches became widely accepted, white phosphorus matches continued to be popular because of their keeping qualities and resistance to climatic conditions. However, at the end of the 19th century, serious toxic effects of white phosphorus ("phossy jaw") were discovered in the factory workers who made such matches. Phosphorus sesquisulfide, much less toxic, was first prepared by the French chemist Georges Lemoine in 1864 but was not used in matches until E.D. Cahen and H. Sevčne of the French government match monopoly filed a patent in 1898; within a few years white phosphorus was outlawed nearly everywhere.
Modern safety matches usually have antimony sulfide, oxidizing agents such as potassium chlorate, and sulfur or charcoal in the heads, and red phosphorus in the striking surface. Non-safety matches usually have phosphorus sesquisulfide in the heads.
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