Have you imagined why a matchstick head is ignited only when it strikes the sidewall of a matchbox? Actually the matchstick has an oxidizing agent, which thus gets ignited when struck to a combustible material present in the sidewall of a matchbox. Modern matches use an allotrope of the same element called redphosphorus. But the white variety still makes a cameo: The frictionthat results from striking against powdered glass generates enough heat to convert some of the red phosphorus to white phosphorus.
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