Spontaneous Combustion

Spontaneous Combustion occasionally occurs in bodies when they are in such a state that they can undergo intense chemical action; the energy of the action may be sufficient to cause luminosity and flame. Many substances in a fine state of division will take fire in the air. Reduced iron, for instance, becomes oxidised so rapidly that heat and light are both produced. When powdered antimony is dropped into chlorine the two elements oombine with so much vigour that brilliant sparks are formed. If lead tartrate be heated in a tube for some time, all the carbon is burnt away, and the tube can be sealed up while hot with its fine deposlt of lead. When the tube is opened the lead takes fire as it comes in contact with the air. Phosphorus can be exposed at ordinary temperatures in the air without catching fire but if it be dissolved in carbon bisulphide and the solution be allowed to evaporate, the deposit of phosphorus igmtes spontaneously. Charcoal under certain conditions - e.g. when saturated with oil - has been known to take fire suddenly, and the presence of certain compounds of iron in coal has been known to cause its spontaneous combustion. Many organic substances will also undergo fermentation or oxidation sufficient to cause their ignition, if they are massed in large guantities. This is specially common in the case of hay or straw ricks when the ricks have been made of damp material. Cotton-waste saturated with oil, greasy woollen rags, and other things of a similar nature are all liable to sudden combustion. The cases of so-called spontaneous combustion of the human body have generally been explained in some more satisfactory manner. In most cases a person impregnated with alcohol has actually caught fire and been burnt, the combustion starting from without and not spontaneons1y.