Chemistry and Physics | When Was Spontaneous Combustion First Recognized?
When was spontaneous combustion first recognized?
Spontaneous combustion is the ignition (catching fire) of stored materials. This is due to internal heat buildup caused by oxidation, a reaction involving the combination of oxygen with another substance. If the materials are stored in such a way that the heat cannot escape into the surrounding air, the temperature of the material rises. If it continues rising until the material reaches its ignition point, the material bursts into flame.
A Chinese text written before A.D. 290 described the spontaneous combustion of stored oiled cloth. The first Western account of spontaneous combustion was by J. P. F. Duhamel in 1757, about the burning of a stack of oil-soaked canvas sails that were drying in the July sun. Before the process of spontaneous combustion was understood, such events were usually considered acts of arson.
Sources: Parker, Sybil...
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