Why does char cloth not catch a flame?

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It only makes embers. Why?

In: Chemistry

Anonymous 0 Comments

So, char cloth is usually made by heating natural fibers (like cotton) without oxygen. It turns into charred carbon.

This process pretty much removes most volatile compounds, and leaves behind the char, it’s highly flammable but doesn’t really like to burst into flames, it has a very low ignition temperature, but does not release a bunch of energy all at once like fire does.

When you light it, it essentially is in a state where it smolders rather than actually *burning*. Smoldering is useful for starting fires because it can give you a steady heat source that you can blow on to heat up, usually lighting other smaller materials.