THE ART OF MAKING FIRE

Artificial Light: Its Influence Upon Civilization by Matthew Luckiesh is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book here. THE ART OF MAKING FIRE

II. THE ART OF MAKING FIRE

Scattered over the earth at the present time various stages of civilization are to be found, from the primitive savages to the most highly cultivated peoples. Although it is possible that there are tribes of lowly beings on earth to-day unfamiliar with fire or ignorant of its uses, savages are generally able to make fire. Thus the use of fire may serve the purpose of distinguishing human beings from the lower animals. Surely the savage of to-day who is unable to kindle fire or who possesses a mind as yet insufficiently developed to realize its possibilities, is quite at the mercy of nature's whims. He lives merely by animal prowess and differs little in deeds and needs from the beasts of the jungle. In this imaginary journey to the remote regions beyond the outskirts of civilization it soon becomes evident that the development of artificial light may be a fair measure of civilization.

In viewing the development of artificial light it is seen that preceding the modern electrical age, man depended universally upon burning material. Obviously, the course of civilization has been highly complex and cannot be symbolized adequately by the branching tree. From its obscure beginning far in the impenetrable fog of prehistoric times, it has branched here and there. These various branches have been subjected to many different influences, with the result that some flourished and endured, some retrogressed, some died, some went to seed and fell to take root and to begin again the upward climb. The ultimate result is the varied civilization of the present time, a study of which aids in penetrating the veil that obscures the ages of unrecorded writing. Likewise, material relics of bygone ages supply some threads of the story of human progress and mythology aids in spanning the misty gap between the earliest ages of man and the period when historic writings were begun. Throughout these various stages it becomes manifest that the development of artificial light is associated with the progress of mankind.

PRIMITIVE FIRE-BASKETS

CRUDE SPLINTER-HOLDERS

According to a certain myth, Prometheus stole fire from heaven and brought this blessing to earth. Throughout the mythologies of various races, fire and, as a consequence, light have been associated with divinity. They have been subjects of worship perhaps more generally than anything else, and these early impressions have survived in the ceremonial uses of light and fire even to the present time. The origin of fire as represented in any of the myths of the superstitious beings of early ages is as suitable as any other, inasmuch as definite knowledge is unavailable. Active volcanoes, spontaneous combustion, friction, accidental focusing of the sun's image, and other means may have introduced primitive beings to fire. A study of savage tribes of the present age combined with a survey of past history of mythology, of material relics, and of the absence of lamps or other lighting utensils leads to the conclusion that the earliest source of light was the wood fire.

EARLY OPEN-FLAME OIL AND GREASE LAMPS

Even to-day the savages of remote lands have not advanced further than the wood-fire stage, and they may be found kneeling upon the ground energetically but skilfully rubbing sticks together until the friction kindles a fire. In using these fire-sticks they convert mechanical energy into heat energy. This is a fundamental principle of physics, employed by them as necessity demands, but they are totally ignorant of it as a scientific law. The things which these savages learn are the result of accidental discovery. Until man pondered over such simple facts and coördinated them so that he could extend his knowledge by general reasoning, his progress could not be rapid. But the sluggish mind of primitive man is capable of devising improvements, however slowly, and the art of making fire by means of rubbing fire-sticks gradually became more refined. Mechanical improvements resulted from experience, with the consequence that finally one stick was rubbed to and fro in a groove, or was rapidly twirled between the palms of the hands while one end was pressed firmly into a hole in a piece of wood. In the course of a few seconds or a minute, depending upon skill and other conditions, a fire was obtained. It is interesting to note how civilized man is often compelled by necessity to adopt the methods of primitive beings. The rubbing of sticks is an emergency measure of the master of woodcraft at the present time, and the production of fire in this manner is the proud accomplishment or ambition of every Boy Scout.

Where only such crude means of kindling fire were available it became the custom in some cases to maintain a fire burning continuously in a public place. Around this pyrtaneum the various civil, political, and religious affairs were carried on by the light and warmth of the public fire. Many quaint customs evolved, apparently, from this ancient procedure.

The tinder-box of modern centuries doubtless originated in very early times, for it is inconceivable that the earliest beings did not become aware of the production of sparks when certain stones were struck together. In the stone age, when human beings spent much of their time chiseling implements and utensils from stone by means of tools of the same substance, it appears certain that this means of producing fire was ever apparent. Many of their sharp implements, such as knives and arrow-heads, were made of quartz and similar material and it is likely that the use of two pieces of quartz for producing a spark originated in those remote periods. Alaskan and Aleutian tribes are known to have employed two pieces of quartz covered with native sulphur. When these were struck together with skill, excellent sparks were obtained.

Later, when iron and steel became available, the more modern tinder-box was developed. An early application of the flint-and-steel principle was made by certain Esquimo tribes who obtained fire by striking a piece of quartz against a piece of iron pyrites. The latter is a yellow sulphide of iron, of crystalline form, best known as "fool's gold." Doubtless, the more primitive beings used dried grass, leaves, and moss as inflammable material upon which the sparks were showered. In later centuries the tinder-box was filled with charred grass, linen, and paper. There was a long interval between the development of fire-sticks and that of the tinder-box as measured by the progress of civilization. During recent centuries ordinary brown paper soaked in saltpeter and dried was utilized satisfactorily as an inflammable material. Such devices have been employed in past ages in widely separated regions of the earth. Elaborate specimens of tinder-boxes from Jamaica, Japan, China, Europe, and various other countries are now reposing in the collections in the possession of museums and of individuals.

If the radiant energy from the sun is sufficiently concentrated upon inflammable material, the latter will ignite. Such concentration may be achieved by means of a convex lens or a concave mirror. This method of producing fire does not antedate the more primitive methods such as striking quartz or rubbing wooden sticks, because the materials required are not readily found or prepared, but it is of very remote origin. Aristophanes in his comedy "The Clouds," which is a satire aimed at the science and philosophy of his period (488-385 b. c.), mentions the "burning lens." Nearly every one is familiar with an achievement attributed to Archimedes in which he destroyed the ships at Syracuse by focusing the image of the sun upon them by means of a concave mirror. The ancient Egyptians were proficient in the art of glass-making, so it is likely that the "burning-glass" was employed by them. Even a crude lens of glass will focus an image of the sun sufficiently well to cause inflammable material to ignite.

The energy in sunlight varies enormously, even on clear days, because the water-vapor in the atmosphere absorbs some of the radiant energy emitted by the sun. This absorbed radiation is chiefly known as infra-red energy, which does not arouse the sensation of light. When the water-vapor content of the atmosphere is high, the sun, though it may appear as bright to the eye, in reality is not as hot as it would be if the water-vapor were not present. However, a fire may be kindled by concentrating only the visible rays in sunlight because of the enormous intensity of sunlight. A convex lens fashioned from ice by means of a sharp-edged stone and finally shaped by melting the surfaces as they are rubbed in the palms of the hands, will kindle a fire in highly inflammable material if the sun is high and the atmosphere is fairly clear. Burning-glasses are used to a considerable extent at the present time in certain countries and it is reported that British soldiers were supplied with them during the Boer War. Indicative of the predominant use to which the glass lens was applied in the past is the employment of the term "burning-glass" instead of lens in the scientific writings as late as a century or two ago.

As civilization advanced, leading intellects began to inquire into the mysteries of nature and the periods of pure philosophy gave way to an era of methodical research. Alchemy and superstition began to retire before the attacks of those pioneers who had the temerity to believe that the scheme of creation involved a vast network of invariable laws. In this manner the powerful sciences of physics and chemistry were born a few centuries ago. Among other things the production of fire and light received attention and the "dark ages" were doomed to end. The crude, uncertain, and inconvenient methods of making fire were replaced by steadily improving scientific devices.

Matches were at first cumbersome, dangerous, and expensive, but these gradually evolved into the safety matches of the present time. Although they were primarily intended for lighting fires and various kinds of lamps, billions of them are now used yearly as convenient light-sources. Smoldering hemp or other material treated with niter and other substances was an early form of match used especially for discharging firearms. The modern wax-taper is an evolutionary form of this type of light-source.

Phosphorus has long played a dominant rôle in the preparation of matches. The first attempt at making them in their modern form appears to have occurred about 1680. Small pieces of phosphorus were used in connection with small splints of wood dipped in sulphur. This type of match did not come into general use until after the beginning of the nineteenth century, owing to its danger and expense. White or yellow phosphorus is a deadly poison; therefore the progress of the phosphorus match was inhibited until the discovery of the relatively harmless form known as red phosphorus. The first commercial application of this form was made in about 1850.

An early ingenious device consisted of a piece of phosphorus contained in a tube. A piston fitted snugly into the tube, by means of which the air could be compressed and the phosphorus ignited. Sulphur matches were ignited from the burning tinder, the latter being fired by flint and steel. In 1828 another form of match consisted of a glass tube containing sulphuric acid and surrounded by a mixture of chlorate of potash and sugar. A pair of nippers was supplied with each box of these "matches," by means of which the tip of the glass tube could be broken off. This liberated the acid, which upon mixing with the other ingredients set fire to them. To this contrivance a roll of paper was attached which was ignited by the burning chemicals.

The lucifer or friction matches appeared in about 1827, but successful phosphorus matches were first made in about 1833. The so-called safety match of the present time was invented in the year 1855. To-day, the total daily output of matches reaches millions and perhaps billions. Automatic machinery is employed in preparing the splints of wood and in dipping them into molten paraffin wax and finally into the igniting composition.

During recent years the principle of the tinder-box has been revived in a device in which sparks are produced by rubbing the mineral cerite (a hydrous silicate of cerium and allied metals) against steel. These sparks ignite a gas-jet or a wick soaked in a highly inflammable liquid such as gasolene or alcohol. This device is a tinder-box of the modern scientific age.

Naturally with the advent of electricity, electrical sparks came into use for lighting gas-jets and mantles and in isolated instances they have served as light-sources. Doubtless, every one is familiar with the parlor stunt of igniting a gas-jet from the discharge from the finger-tips of static electricity accumulated by shuffling the feet across the floor-rug.

Although many of these methods and devices have been used primarily for making fire, they have served as emergency or momentary light-sources. In the outskirts of civilization some of them are employed at the present time and various modern light-sources require a method of ignition.

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This book is part of the public domain. Matthew Luckiesh (2006). Artificial Light: Its Influence upon Civilization. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved October 2022 https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/17625/pg17625-images.html

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