Spark (fire)

“ Here you will tread upon a spark, but here, and there, and behind you, and in front of you, and everywhere, flames will blaze up. It is a subterranean fire. You cannot put it out. The ground is on fire upon which you stand. ”

“ We know that, on some occasions, the least spark excites the strongest flame in a combustible body, and which increases so much as to consume it in a few moments: candles then would be no sooner lighted than they would be destroyed, without answering any other purpose than that of dazzling us for a few moments: iron would be calcined, instead of acquiring from the fire that softness necessary for transforming it into its various instruments, and which it cannot receive in a more moderate heat. ”

“ A puff of wind down the chimney will send a spark into it, and then comes an explosion. It’s something like that when you educated and clever gentlemen begin to bring your fire near the hot inflammable minds of our ignorant lads. You don’t mean there to be any spark; you mean to get your material well dried and in good working order, so that it can be used for right and legitimate ends ”

“ Whilst standing on the stool, sparks may be obtained from his body, and if some tow is tied over a brass ball, and moistened with a little ether, and presented to the tip of his finger, a spark flies off which quickly sets fire to the inflammable liquid. ”

“ Sparks from flint must have suggested a second method of kindling a fire; certainly the art of igniting soft filaments of wood by means of a spark—thus enabling the very smallest source of combustion to be used for human purposes—was known to man in the earliest times. The obvious results of the use of fire are means of obtaining warmth and of cooking food. ”

“ When a man lights an hundred candles from the flame of one, without diminishing that flame, can it be properly said to have communicated all that fire? When a single spark from a flint, applied to a magazine of gunpowder, is immediately attended with this consequence, that the whole is in flame, exploding with immense violence, could all this fire exist first in the spark? ”

“ Even combustible matters will not keep it alive if deprived of air, for under this privation the most intense fire will not burn; but a single spark of air is sufficient to kindle them, and in proportion as it is supplied with that element the fire becomes strong, extended, and devouring. ”

“ They seem to me not so liable to set fire to as thatch. Pitch (especially if coated over with sand or smithy ashes) will not be lighted by a spark, nor even by the application of a slender flame, as will that material; though, on the other hand, when lighted, it will unquestionably burn with greater velocity than any species of thatching.... In the steward’s house and men’s lodge wood is constantly used as fuel, which, though more dangerous for emitting sparks than coal, yet no accident has or is ever likely to happen to the roof. ”

“ If sooty bubbles form and blacken on the wick in a lamp burning whale oil, each bubble indicates the receipt of a letter.
Peabody, Mass.
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1459. When sparks are seen on the bottom of the tea-kettle, it is a sign that folks are going home from meeting.
New Hampshire and Boxford, Mass.
1460. Sparks flying from a fire mean letters; the number of the sparks is the number of the letters.
Boston, Mass.
1461. If a spark or sparks jump out of the fire and hit you or come towards you, it is a sign some one has a spite or grudge against you. ”

“ A spark neglected makes a mighty fire. ”

“ How the sparks mount and twinkle and disappear like tropical fireflies, and all the leaves murmur, and clap their hands! Some of the sparks do not go out: we see them flaming in the sky when the flame of the fire has died down. ”

“ Rising into the air with showers of sparks, and rolling one above the other, were sheets of flame, lighting the atmosphere for miles round, and driving clouds of smoke in the direction where he stood. The shouts grew louder as new voices swelled the rear, and he could hear the cry of Fire mingled with the ringing of an alarm-bell, the fall of heavy bodies, and the crackling of flames as they twined round some new obstacle, and shot aloft as though refreshed by food. ”

“ A lighted torch was applied to the fuel, and a tongue of flame, darting from amid the thick cloud of suffocating smoke, licked the grim stone walls, while the spiral staircase, acting like a lofty chimney, fanned the fire till it glowed like a potter's furnace. ”

“ And concerning this flame I was not overmuch astonished in my Reason; for it had seemed to me as I drew anigh, that the fire and the sound should be made by the roaring and whistling of a burning gas that did issue forth among the rocks. ”

“ This beautiful composition is also susceptible of other representations, many of which may without the least danger be exhibited within a room, as well as in the open air; it is really of so innocent a nature, that it may be (though improperly) called a cold fire; for it is found that when well made, the sparks will not burn a handkerchief when held in the midst of them; they may be held in the hand with perfect safety; if the sparks fall a short distance upon the hand, you feel them like drops of rain. ”

“ From this forth the fire did not cease to burn, filling the wide fireplace with a bright blaze, with tongues of flame that seemed to die away from time to time, only to burn up more brightly than ever when fresh fuel fed them. The fire grew larger, the heap of ashes rose higher and higher—a thick bed of blackened leaves among which ran millions of sparks. ”

“ The room was filled with a thick, black smoke, and every one coughed and choked; their eyes began to smart, and tears ran down their cheeks; but they worked bravely, and after a few minutes the last tiny flame was extinguished.
"What a queer way to put out a fire!" said one of the boys, after the excitement was all over. "I thought everyone always used water."
"Not when the fire is caused by burning oil," replied his father. "Water will only spread the oil, and make a bad matter worse. Always remember to use flour or sand to smother the flames, if a lamp explodes or is tipped over." ”

“ In the frantic hurry and agitation of the moment, it never struck me that I might let out the flame instead of letting in the air. I struck at the skylight, and battered in the cracked, loosened glass at a blow. The fire leaped out like a wild beast from its lair. ”

“ If the gas be copious, the flame elongates into a sharp spire, as well as the top. It is in general reckoned dangerous when the tip changes from the bluish-gray to a fine blue colour, accompanied with minute luminous points, which pass rapidly upwards through the flame and top. When the symptoms are manifestly dangerous, a sudden movement of the hands or body is liable to produce ignition by agitation of the fire-damp. ”

“ But so long as there is continuous combustion in the same fireplace or pile of fuel, we speak of the same fire although neither the flame nor the fuel remains the same. When combustion ceases, the fire goes out in popular language. ”

“ Sometimes also the tanks of crude oil take fire, and these conflagrations are said to present a splendid spectacle,—the resinous parts of the oil burning with a fierce deep-red flame and sending up volumes of smoke, through which are emitted lightning-like flashes exploding the ignited gas. ”

“ It was the greatest force in nature. It was fire. On one hand, I seemed cool and calculated the chances; on the other, I had flashes in my brain, and kept crying out crazily, in a voice like a whisper: “Fire! Fire! Fire!”
But presently the wall of fire rolled by and took the roar with it. Dense billows of smoke followed, and hid everything in opaque darkness. I heard the hiss of failing sparks and the crackle of burning wood, and occasionally the crash of a failing branch. It was intolerably hot, but I could stand the heat better than the air. ”

“ The flame is hollow. The bright flame we see is something no thicker than a thin peel, or skin; and it doesn’t touch the wick. Inside of it is the vapor I told you of just now. If you put one end of a bent pipe into the middle of the flame, and let the other end of the pipe dip into a bottle, the vapor or gas from the candle will mix with the air there; and if you set fire to the mixture of gas from the candle and air in the bottle, it would go off with a bang. ”

“ Then you want a forestick on the andirons; and upon these build the fire of lighter stuff. In this way you have at once a cheerful blaze, and the fire gradually eats into the solid mass, sinking down with increasing fervor; coals drop below, and delicate tongues of flame sport along the beautiful grain of the forestick. There are people who kindle a fire underneath. But these are conceited people, who are wedded to their own way. I suppose an accomplished incendiary always starts a fire in the attic, if he can. ”

“ Have you never looked with a steadfast gaze into a grate of burning anthracite, and noticed the quiet intense glow of the heat, and how silently the fire throbs and pulsates through the fuel, burning up everything that is inflammable, and, making the whole mass as pure, and clean, and clear, as the element of fire itself? ”

“ Every now and then they meet with a puff of wind, which will perhaps strike a great wall of fire rushing up-hill as straight as a line, and divide it into two fiery horns like a crescent; then as the breeze changes again, the tips of flame will gradually approach each other till they meet, and go on again in a solid mass of fire. ”

“ Have you seen the coal heap in the forge, how the fire rages and glows within before the blast? Water is thrown on without quenching the fire, it only intensifies its heat. At last the black mass cracks on all sides and the white fury shoots out in spits and knives of flame. ”

“ The fire was advancing rapidly and the heat was terrific. Choking and gasping in the stinging resinous smoke, the men strove in frenzy of haste to complete the fire-break before the flames should reach them. ”

“ The combustible matter which reaches the ground, or takes fire near it, never fails to strike. But sometimes it is not strong enough to approach us, and like an ill-charged cannon, it disperses in the atmosphere and does no harm. When, on the contrary, the fiery exhalations reach the ground, they sometimes make terrible havoc.
We may judge of the prodigious force of the lightning by the wonderful effects it produces. The heat of the flame is such, that it burns and consumes every thing that is combustible. ”

“ When laid on a fire they burn away with a feeble lambent flame, indeed some varieties give no flame at all, but burn merely with a red glow, somewhat like charcoal, and at length become consumed without caking. ”

“ The fire is best. It is near you, and you drop your burning spill into it with a minimum waste of energy. The proper fire for pipes is one in a cheerful blaze. If your spill is carelessly constructed the flame runs up into your fingers before you know what you are doing, so that it is as well to marry and get your wife to make spills for you. Before you begin to smoke, scatter these about the fireplace. Then you will be able to reach them without rising. The irritating fire is the one that has burned low—when the coals are more than half cinders, and cling to each other in fear of death. ”

“ Far ahead of the actual fire itself ran its fatal forerunner, the sheet of gases and superheated air, sometimes level, sometimes high lifted at the whim of the breeze, but always fierce, always southward, always with annihilation in its grip. ”

“ I take the steel and the flint, and striking them together I get sparks. I want you to ask yourselves, Where do the sparks come from? Each spark is due to a minute piece of iron being knocked off the steel by the blow of flint with steel. Note the precise character of the spark. Let me sprinkle some iron filings into this large gas flame. You will notice that the sparks of burning iron filings are very similar in appearance to the spark I produce by the collision of my flint and steel. ”

“ The spark made by a flint and steel, consists of a thin shaving of steel, scraped off by the flint and heated by the arrested motion. When well struck, the spark is white-hot and at that temperature it burns with bright scintillations in the air, just as iron that is merely red-hot burns in pure oxygen. ”

“ If a flame is to be represented, as for example, the effect of an incendiary, and its appearance is to be prolonged, the fire from tow being too transient, small iron kettles, of four inches in diameter, and depth, may be used. In these are put three or four ounces of the composition of the lances of service, which is moistened with the oil or spirit of turpentine. When set on fire, they will produce a blaze three or four feet in height, and one and a half in diameter. ”

“ So white naphtha attracts flame, because it gives off and exhales an inflammable vapour, on which account it is kindled at some distance, just as the smoke of a recently extinguished candle takes fire again from another flame; for fire creeps to fire through an inflammable medium. ”

“ Between the cupped hands this medium is receivable, and may be carried from the flame of a candle to the wick of a different candle just blown out, which it re-illumines. There being little or none of the medium of fire attendant on a detached ignited body, favours the conjecture that the fuel during combustion contributes somewhat of its elements towards the formation of the medium of fire. ”

“ Some ignited bodies are found to be much warmer than some flames; for instance, red hot iron is much warmer, and burns more than the flame of spirits of wine. 26. Some bodies even not ignited, but only heated by the fire, as boiling water, and the air confined in reverberatories, surpass in heat many flames and ignited substances. 27. Motion increases heat, as is shown in the bellows and the blowpipe; for the harder metals are not dissolved or melted by steady quiet fire, without the aid of the blowpipe. 28. Let an experiment be made with burning-glasses ”