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Why can moisture prevent a match from lighting?
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combustion
Learn about the chemistry of lighting a match.
Moisture prevents a match from lighting because it interferes with the necessary conditions for combustion.
When you strike a match, friction is intended to heat the match head to a specific temperature where the chemicals react and generate enough heat to sustain a flame. If the chemicals are moist, the friction fails to raise the temperature sufficiently to initiate this reaction. Essentially, the moisture absorbs or dissipates the heat generated by the friction, preventing the reactants from reaching the threshold required to trigger the chemical reaction that produces fire.1