https://wfmu.org/playlists/shows/46752
In this brief explanation, I hope to go over how standard Bic-style lighters work, detailing the three necessary components of fire: fuel, air, energy.
AIR
©iStockphoto.com/AleksandarGeorgiev
Thankfully, we live in an oxygen rich environment, so air is not a component that needs to be engineered.
Rest assured, however, that a lighter would not work in space or the ocean.
FUEL
The first part of the lighter necessary to make fire is the fuel that will burn. This comes in two common forms, naphtha and butane. Bic lighters use butane, which is a highly volatile gas. The butane is pressurized in the fuel chamber, requiring it to be reinforced with a piece of plastic spanning from one side of the lighter to the other.
Diagram of fuel cell cross-section
Clear lighters with internals visible (credit: www.mistersmoke.com)
There are three components that dispense the gas into the air: the fork, nozzle, and jet.
The fork is what the user presses down on. The other side of the fork then pushes up on the nozzle, releasing the seal between the chamber and atmosphere.
The built up pressure inside the fuel chamber then forces the gaseous fuel through the jet and nozzle, into the air.
ENERGY
https://giphy.com/gifs/fire-slow-motion-bJOiXmloB1RzG
Fire needs energy to ignite, and lighters are no exception. The way a lighter creates the initial energy is through a flint and steel.
The flint is a small cylinder. This touches the steel wheel which spins when the user flicks their thumb down.
The steel does two things: it shreds tiny pieces of flint off of the main cylinder and produces heat from friction. Because these flint particles are so small, they become red hot and have enough energy to ignite the volatile gas.
Steel wheel (Credit: Amazon.com)
