eli5 How exactly does a lighter produce flame?
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If you’re talking about a lighter like a zippo, there’s fabric in the base, typically cotton, that’s soaked in lighter fluid. A fabric wick is threaded through the top of the lighter down into the cotton, and the fuel soaks up through the wick. The rough metal wheel at the top rotates against a spring-loaded piece of ferrocerium (think flint and steel) and creates a spark. The spark ignites the fuel in the wick, and as it burns it pulls more fuel from the cotton below.
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