    
|
 Helping San Diego, California and beyond since 1997 |
|
|
Helping San Diego, California and beyond since 1997 |
Click here and add this page to your favorites!
|
Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: MAR-MEC |
|
|
MATARO (anc. Iluro) , a seaport of north-eastern Spain, in the province of Barcelona, on the Mediterranean Sea and the Barcelona-Perpignan railway. Pop. (1900), 19,704. The streets of the new town, lying next the sea, are wide and regularly built; those of the old town, farther up the hill, still preserve much of their ancient character. The parish church of Santa Maria has some good pictures and wood carvings. The wine of the neighbourhood, which resembles port, is shipped in large quantities from Barcelona; and the district furnishes fine roses and strawberries for the Barcelona market. The leading industries are manufactures of linen and cotton
starch
spring of Argentona.MATCH: 1. O. Eng. gemaecca, a cognate form of " make," meaning originally " fit " or " suitable "; a pair, or one of a pair of objects, persons or animals. As particularly applied to a husband and wife, and hence to a marriage, the word is especially used of two persons or things which correspond exactly to each other. The verb " to match " has also the meaning to " pit one against each other," and so is applied in sport to an arranged contest between individuals or sides. 2. O. Fr. mesche; apparently from a latinized form of Gr. ubEa, mucus from the nose, applied to the nozzle of a lamp; primarily the wick which conveys oil or molten wax to the flame of a lamp or candle (this use is now obsolete), the word being then applied to various objects having the property of carrying fire. With early firearms a match, consisting of a cord of hemp or similar material treated with nitre and other substances so that it continued to smoulder after it had been ignited, was used for firing the charge, being either held in the gunner's hand or attached to the cock of the musket or arquebus and brought down by the action of the trigger on the powder priming (" match-lock "); and more or less similar preparations, made to burn more or less rapidly as required (" quick
The first attempt to make matches in the modern sense may probably be ascribed to Godfrey Haukwitz, who, in 168o, acting under the direction of Robert Boyle, who at that time had just discovered how to prepare phosphorus, employed small pieces of that element, ignited by friction, to light splints of .wood dipped in sulphur. This device, however, did not come into extensive use owing to its danger and inconvenience and to the cost of the phosphorus, and till the beginning of the 19th century flint and steel with tinder-box and sulphur-tipped splints of wood" spunks " or matcheswere the common means of obtaining fire for domestic and other purposes. The sparks struck off by the percussion of flint and steel were made to fall among the tinder, which consisted of carbonized fragments of cotton
bottle containing asbestos, saturated with strong sulphuric acid, with splints or matches coated with sulphur, and tipped with a mixture of chlorate of potash and sugar. The matches so pre-pared, when brought into contact with the sulphuric acid in the bottle , ignited, and this, by chemical action, fire was produced. In 1823 a decided impetus was given to the artificial production of fire by the introduction of the Dobereiner lamp, so called after its inventor, J. W. Dobereiner of Jena. The first really practical friction matches were made in England in 1827, by John Walker, a druggist of Stockton-on-Tees. These were known asMATCH " Congreves " after Sir William Congreve, the inventor of the Congreve rocket, and consisted of wooden splints or sticks of cardboard coated with sulphur and tipped with a mixture of sulphide of antimony, chlorate of potash and gum. With each box which was retailed at a shilling, there was supplied a folded piece of glass paper, the folds of which were to be tightly pressed together, while the match was drawn
But the use of ordinary white or yellow phosphorus as a principal ingredient in the igniting mixture of matches was found to be accompanied with very serious disadvantages. It is a deadly poison, and its free dissemination has-led to many accidental deaths, and to numerous cases of wilful murder and suicide. Workers also who are exposed to phosphoric vapours are subject to a peculiarly distressing disease which attacks the jaw, and ultimately produces necrosis of the jaw-bone (" phossy jaw "), though with scrupulous attention to ventilation and cleanliness much of the risk
The processes carried out in a match factory include preparing the splints, dipping them first in molten paraffin wax and then in the igniting composition, and filling the matches into boxes. All these operations are performed by complicated automatic machinery, in the development of which the Diamond Match Company of America has taken a leading part, with the minimum of manual
The chief
Chief
after the passing of the White Matches Prohibition Act 1908, which forbade the manufacture and importation of such matches from the 1st of January 191o; though to avoid hardship to retailers and others holding large stocks it permitted their sale for a year longer. Phosphorous sulphide (sesquisulphide of phosphorus) is one of the sub-stances widely employed as a substitute for yellow phosphorus in matches which will strike anywhere without the need of a specially prepared surface. Safety matches contain no phosphorus in the heads; according to one formula that has been published the mixture with which they are tipped consists of chlorate of potash, 32 parts; bichromate of potash, 12; red lead, 32; sulphide of antimony, 24; while the ingredients of a suitable rubbing surface are eight parts of amorphous phosphorus to nine of sulphide of antimony. There is no doubt, however, that there is considerable diversity in the composition of the mixtures actually employed. Vestas " are matches in which short pieces of thin " wax taper " are used in place of wooden splints. Fusees or vesuvians consist of large oval heads fixed on a round splint. These heads consist of a porous mixture of charcoal, saltpetre, cascarilla or other scented bark, glass and gum, tipped with common igniting composition. When lighted they form a glowing mass, without flame. It is calculated that in the principal European countries from six to ten matches are used for each inhabitant daily, and the world's annual output must reach a total which requires twelve or thirteen figures for its expression. In the United States the manufacture is under the control of the Diamond Match Company, formed in 1881; which company also has an important share in the industry in Great Britain, where it has established large works. Similarly the manufacture of safety matches in Sweden is largely controlled by one big combination. In France matches are a government monopoly, and are both dear in price and inferior in quality, as compared with other countries where the industry is left to private enterprise. The French government formerly leased the manufacture to a company (Societe generale des allumettes chimiques), but since 18go it has been undertaken directly by the state. End of Article: MATARO (anc. Iluro) If you wish, you can link directly to this article.
<a href="http://jcsm.org/StudyCenter/Encyclopedia/MAR_MEC/MATARO_anc_Iluro_.html"> MATARO (anc. Iluro) </a> |
|
|
(Previous) MATANZAS |
(Next) MATE (a corruption of make, from O. Eng. gemaca... |
Jesus Christ Saves Ministries, P.O. Box 70696, Pasadena, CA 91117JCSM is a 501(c)(3), non-profit organization. Copyright © 1997-present. |
Free & Cheap Cell
Phones |
Cheap Long Distance
Phone Service Carriers |
Talk America Local Phone Service
|
Ztel & MCI - Unlimited Long Distance
Compare
Cell Phone Plans & Companies |
International Calling Cards & Prepaid Phone Cards |
Voice Over IP Broadband Internet Phone
Service | Wireless
Phone Plans & Cheap Cell Phones
|
_____________________________________________________________________________
