andlt;strongandgt;Matches.andlt;/strongandgt; Close-up of a set of matchesigniting. Matches are made to ignite when theirheads (red) are heated by friction. The tip ofeach match has a layer of the chemicalandlt;emandgt;phosphorous trisulphideandlt;/emandgt;, which burns at lowtemperatures. This in turn ignites the rest of thematch head, usually made from paraffin andchemicals which support burning. Matches of thistype were first made in 1827. Safety matches havethe andlt;emandgt;phosphorous trisulphideandlt;/emandgt; on a separatestriking board on the box. This prevents themigniting by accident.
