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Tinderbox

2025-08-19T02:10:21Z

2601:196:180:DC0:7897:64BD:78BB:BC83: /* History */Copyedit.

{{Short description|Container for fire-starting materials with flint, firesteel, and tinder}}
{{other uses}}
[[File:Old tinderboxes.jpg|thumb|right|Sheet iron tinderboxes. English, 18th and early 19th C.]]
[[Image:Tinderbox.jpg|thumb|Pocket tinderbox with firesteel and flint. This type was used during the Boer War due to a scarcity of matches]]

A '''tinderbox''', or '''patch box''', is a container made of wood or metal containing [[flint]], [[firesteel]], and [[tinder]] (typically [[char cloth|charcloth]], but possibly a small quantity of dry, finely divided fibrous matter such as hemp), used together to help kindle a [[fire]]. A tinderbox may also contain sulfur-tipped [[match]]es.

Tinderboxes fell out of general usage when friction matches were invented.

== History ==
Throughout prehistoric Europe [[flint]] and iron [[pyrites]] (commonly known as fool's gold) were struck against one another in order to create a spark for firelighting. As an example, [[Ötzi]] (the natural mummy of a man who lived some time between 3350 and 3105 BC, discovered in September 1991) was found with [[tinder fungus]] along with flint and pyrite for creating sparks.

With the development of iron ore smelting in the [[Iron Age]], the firesteel eventually replaced pyrites.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5jsOAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22tinder+box%22&pg=PA272 | title = The Jesuit relations and allied ... - Jesuits |date=2007-09-28 |access-date=2011-11-07}}</ref> This was simply a piece of [[carbon steel]] (it is difficult to obtain sparks with ordinary [[iron]]), which was usually wrought into a 'D' shape, or an oval ring, so that it could be conveniently looped around two or three fingers for striking. The flint was sometimes chipped to provide a suitably sharp edge to obtain a spark and if necessary other hard stones, such as [[quartzite]], [[chert]] or [[chalcedony]] could be substituted.<ref>Mors Kochanski, ''Bushcraft: Outdoor Skills and Wilderness Survival'' (Edmonton: Lone Pine Publishing, 1987), p. 16</ref>

[[char cloth|Charcloth]] was fabric made from vegetable fibre, such as [[cotton]], [[linen]], or [[jute]], which had been charred via [[pyrolysis]] to give it the low ignition temperature and slow burning characteristics suitable for use as [[tinder]]. Rotten wood, known as [[wikt:Special:Search/touchwood|touchwood]], was also used, as well as [[amadou]], which was a tinder prepared from fungus steeped in potassium nitrate ([[saltpetre]]) and dried.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f5oDAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22tinder+box%22&pg=PA196 | title = An encyclopćdia of domestic economy ... - Thomas Webster, Mrs. William Parkes | access-date=2011-11-07}}</ref>

[[File:Wooden_tinderbox_with_fire_steel_and_flint.jpg|thumb|right|Wooden tinderbox with separate compartments for the firesteel, flint etc. and tinder. English or Welsh, 18th C.]]

When away from home small pocket tinderboxes were often carried, sometimes set with a [[burning glass]] (a magnifying lens) in the lid to light the tinder directly from the sun's rays.<ref name="Fire And Light"/> The poorer people working in the fields would obtain a light by simply striking a flint on the back of a knife onto a piece of [[Fuse (explosives)|touchpaper]] that they carried in their pockets.<ref name="Old West Surrey">Jekyll, Gertrude (1904). ''Old West Surrey'', chapt. 4. County historical reprints. {{ISBN|9780854096565}}.</ref>

The tinder pistol, based on the [[flintlock mechanism]], was a more expensive alternative to the tinderbox and was in use in middle and upper-class homes in the 18th century.
In the early 19th century a more efficient tinderbox was invented with a rotating metal wheel to create the sparks<ref name="Old Implements"/> and there were other more experimental devices available, such as the [[fire piston]] and the instantaneous light box.<ref name="Fire And Light">Caspall, John (1987). ''Fire and light in the home pre 1820'', chapt. 1. Antique collectors club. {{ISBN|9781851490219}}.</ref>

[[File:Match seller.jpg|thumb|right|A London street seller of matches for tinderboxes in 1821]]
In the 18th and early 19th century tinderboxes were in common use, but with the advent of John Walker's 'friction lights' in 1827, where a match could be struck by withdrawing it from a piece of folded [[glass paper]], tinderboxes increasingly became obsolete.<ref name="Fire And Light"/><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fRwPAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22tinder+box%22+date:1400-1900&pg=PA501 |title=Once upon a time - Charles Knight | access-date=2011-11-07}}</ref> A book from 1881<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T0wrIyDcO1EC&dq=%22tinder+box%22&pg=PA260 | title = The Past in the present - Sir Arthur Mitchell | access-date=2011-11-07}}</ref> notes that in 1834 a magazine editor had predicted<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mlQAAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22tinder+box%22&pg=PA285 | title = The Penny magazine of the Society ... - Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge (Great Britain) | access-date=2011-11-07}}</ref> that despite the advent of 'lucifers' (friction [[matches]]), the tinderbox would continue to be in general use in the household, but that in fact, by the time of writing, the tinderbox had become rare, expensive and was commonly seen only in museums of antiquities. Another book from 1889 describes such a tinderbox,<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GEYLAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22tinder+box%22&pg=PA379 | title = Collections historical ... - Powys-land Club |date=2007-08-11 |access-date=2011-11-07}}</ref> observing that the wear patterns on the flint were the same as those on ancient prehistoric flints in the collection.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AX05AAAAIAAJ&dq=%22tinder+box%22+date:1400-1900&pg=PA263 |title=Transactions of the Cumberland ... - Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society, James Simpson, Richard Saul Ferguson, William Gershom Collingwood |date=2007-07-25 |access-date=2011-11-07}}</ref>

==Use==
In use the flint was struck in a vigorous downward motion against the steel, sending a shower of sparks into the tinder which was arranged in the bottom of the box. The sparks (actually pieces of burning steel broken off by the harder flint) created very small embers as they fell onto the charcloth, the glow of which, with some gentle blowing, would be enough to ignite a [[sulfur]] tipped wooden splint. The splint could then be carried to a candle, often set in a holder on the top of the box, and finally the cloth would be extinguished with a damper to preserve it for further use.<ref name="Old Implements">Seymour Lindsay, J. (1927). ''Iron And Brass Implements Of The English House'', part iii. Reprinted Alec Tiranti 1970. {{ISBN|0854589996}}</ref> With skill, a fire could be started in under a minute, but at other times it took longer and occasionally a tiny pinch of [[gunpowder]] was added to encourage the process.<ref name="Old West Surrey"/>

== As metaphor ==
In conventional usage, the term "tinderbox" refers to something that is so dry that it could catch on fire with the slightest provocation, perhaps even spontaneously. It is also used to describe a potentially volatile or violent person or situation. For instance, an agitated or unstable individual, or a prison in which there is feverish unrest.<ref>{{cite web|title=Tinderbox - meaning|url=http://www.thefreedictionary.com/tinderbox|publisher=The free dictionary|accessdate=29 October 2013}}</ref>

== See also ==
*[[Chuckmuck]]
*[[Fire striker]]

== References ==

{{reflist|2}}

== External links ==
{{Wiktionary}}
* [http://www.prm.ox.ac.uk/fire.html Methods of making fire, Oxford University]


{{Firelighting}}

[[Category:Fire making]]

Inclusion (mineral)

2025-08-19T01:42:40Z

2601:196:180:DC0:7897:64BD:78BB:BC83: /* Metallurgy */Ce.

{{Short description|Material trapped inside a mineral during formation}}
[[File:Apatite-Aegirine-64416.jpg|thumb|Dark inclusions of [[aegerine]] in light-green [[apatite]]]]
[[File:Inclusions2-1.jpg|thumb|Sketch showing different shapes of inclusions]]

An '''inclusion''' in [[mineralogy]] is any material trapped inside a [[mineral]] during its formation. In [[gemology]], it is an object enclosed within a gemstone or reaching its surface from the interior.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2017-06-03|title=Types of Mineral Inclusions|url=http://www.geologypage.com/2017/06/types-mineral-inclusions.html|access-date=2020-08-08|website=Geology Page|language=en-US}}</ref> According to [[James Hutton]]'s law of inclusions, fragments included in a host rock are older than the host rock itself.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=What Are Inclusions?|url=http://www.gemcoach.com/what-are-inclusions/|access-date=2020-08-08|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Geologic Principles|url=https://imnh.iri.isu.edu/Exhibits/Online/geo_time/geo_principles.htm#inclusions|access-date=2020-08-08|website=imnh.iri.isu.edu|archive-date=2021-10-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211017052138/https://imnh.iri.isu.edu/exhibits/online/geo_time/geo_principles.htm#inclusions|url-status=dead}}</ref> The term is also used in [[metallurgy]].

==Mineralogy==
Inclusions are usually [[rock (geology)|rock]]s or other minerals, less often water, gas or [[petroleum]]. Liquid and [[vapor]] create [[fluid inclusion]]s. In [[amber]], insects and plants are common inclusions.

The analysis of atmospheric gas [[Bubble (physics)|bubbles]] as inclusions in [[ice core]]s is an important tool in the study of [[climate change (general concept)|climate change]].<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Barnola|first1=J.-M|last2=Raynaud|first2=D.|last3=Lorius|first3=C.|last4=Barkov|first4=N.I.|year=2003|title=Historical Carbon Dioxide Record from the Vostok Ice Core|url=https://cdiac.ess-dive.lbl.gov/trends/co2/vostok.html|access-date=2020-08-08|website=cdiac.ess-dive.lbl.gov}}</ref>

A [[xenolith]] is a preexisting rock which has been picked up by a lava flow. [[Melt inclusion]]s form when bits of melt become trapped inside crystals as they form in the melt.

==Gemology==
[[File:Dominican Amber housing an Insect.jpg|thumb|An insect encased in [[amber]], has gas bubbles protruding from its thorax and head.]]
[[File:Three Phase in Rock Crystal Quartz, Pakistan.jpg|thumb|The term three phase relates to the three phases of matter, solid, liquid, and gas. This is a three phase inclusion in rock crystal quartz. The solid is a black material that is of [[bituminous]] origin. The liquid encased is [[petroleum]], and the gas bubble is [[methane]].]]

Inclusions are one of the most important factors when it comes to gem valuation. They diminish the [[diamond clarity|clarity]] and value of many gemstones, such as [[diamond (gemstone)|diamonds]], and increase the value of others, such as [[sapphire#Star sapphire|star sapphire]]s.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2017-01-20|title=Types of Mineral Inclusions with Photos|url=http://www.geologyin.com/2017/01/types-of-mineral-inclusions-with-photos.html|access-date=2020-08-08|language=en}}</ref>

Many colored gemstones are expected to have inclusions which do not greatly affect their values. They are categorized into three types:<ref name=":0" />

*Type I colored gems, such as [[Beryl#Aquamarine and maxixe|aquamarines]], [[topaz]] and [[zircon]], have very few or no inclusions.
*Type II colored gems, such as [[sapphire]], [[ruby]], [[garnet]] and [[spinel]], often have a few inclusions.
*Type III colored gems, such as [[emerald]] and [[tourmaline]], almost always have inclusions.

<gallery>
File:Gem with inclusion.JPG|Clear gemstone with metallic inclusion
File:Peridotgem.JPG|[[Peridot]] with milky inclusion
File:Ruby gem.JPG|Natural [[ruby]] with inclusions
</gallery>

==Metallurgy==
{{see also|Casting defect#Inclusion (casting)}}

Inclusions are also found in [[metallurgy]] and metals processing.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Petersen|first=Christian|date=August 2, 2020|title=What Are Inclusions in Steel?|url=http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-inclusions-in-steel.htm|access-date=2020-08-08|website=wiseGEEK|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=The Origins of Oxide Inclusions :: Total Materia Article|url=https://www.totalmateria.com/page.aspx?ID=CheckArticle&site=kts&NM=378|access-date=2020-08-08|website=www.totalmateria.com}}</ref> During the melt stage of processing particles such as oxides can enter or form in the liquid metal which are subsequently trapped when the melt solidifies. The term is usually used negatively such as when the particle could act as a fatigue crack [[Nucleation|nucleator]] or as an area of high stress intensity.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ashby |first=M. F. |title=Materials: engineering, science, processing and design |publisher=Butterworth-Heinemann |others=Hugh Shercliff, David Cebon |year=2019 |isbn=978-0-08-102376-1 |edition=4th |location=Oxford |language=en |oclc=852806045 |department=Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, UK}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Inclusion Metallurgy|url=https://metallurgy.at/en/inclusion-metallurgy/|access-date=2020-08-08|website=Department Metallurgy - Metallurgie Department|date=30 January 2019 |language=en-GB}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Diamond inclusions]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Mineralogy]]
[[Category:Petrology]]
[[Category:Gemology]]
[[Category:Metallurgy]]