Hot gloves.Ever hear of a pair of gloves starting a fire - by themselves? That's what That's What is one of the more idiosyncratic releases by solo steel-string guitar artist Leo Kottke. It is distinctive in it's jazzy nature and "talking" songs ("Buzzby" and "Husbandry"). happened last August at a warehouse in New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. . According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. fire officials, crates of latex surgical gloves stored there set the building ablaze when the gloves spontaneously combusted. "Spontaneous combustion spontaneous combustion, phenomenon in which a substance unexpectedly bursts into flame without apparent cause. In ordinary combustion, a substance is deliberately heated to its ignition point to make it burn. [also called self-ignition] happens when a chemical combines with oxygen, and generates enough heat to set materials near it on fire," says William Berkowitz, a chemist at Queens College in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of . Officials aren't sure exactly what chemicals caused the warehouse blaze. But Berkowitz suggests that the rubber the gloves are made of may be to blame. Manufacturers make latex rubber from tree sap through a process called polymetization, Berkowitz explains. Polymerization polymerization Any process in which monomers combine chemically to produce a polymer. The monomer molecules—which in the polymer usually number from at least 100 to many thousands—may or may not all be the same. is a chemical reaction in which smaller molecules bond together to form larger chainlike molecules. "Some of the sap may not have been completely polymerized during the rubber-making process," Berkowitz theorizes. "That may have allowed the unreacted material to slowly combine with oxygen in the air, and give off heat. "Eventually the gloves probably generated enough heat to set themselves - and everything else around them - on fire," Berkowitz says. "Spontaneous combustion is a fairly rare occurrence," he adds, though materials like metal filings and some lab chemicals, such as sodium or phosphorous phos·pho·rous adj. Of, relating to, or containing phosphorus, especially with a valence of 3 or a valence lower than that of a comparable phosphoric compound. , can also self-ignite. Fire officials are still investigating the glove incident. Meanwhile, officials have warned hospitals and medical-supply companies to look out for the "hot" gloves. FAST FACT More than 240 firefighters put out a warehouse blaze caused by "self-igniting" gloves. Sixty-seven firefighters were injured. One thousand cases of "hot" gloves have been distributed throughout the U.S. Two other incidents of small fires or melting have been reported. Scientists will analyze the "hot" gloves to identify the chemicals that caused the blaze. |
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