gas lighter on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
A gas lighter is a device used to ignite a
Kitchen Gas Lighter Working Principle
/ref>
File:Allume-gaz 2049.jpg
File:Vecchi accendigas.jpg
A gas lighter is a device used to ignite a gas stove
A gas stove is a stove that is fuelled by combustible gas such as syngas, natural gas, propane, butane, liquefied petroleum gas or other flammable gas. Before the advent of gas, cooking stoves relied on solid fuels such as coal or wood. The f ...
burner. It is used for gas stoves which do not have automatic ignition systems. It uses a physical phenomenon which is called the piezo-electric effect to generate an electric spark that ignites the combustible gas from the stove’s burner.
Principle
The phenomenon of piezo-electric effect can be briefly explained as follows: when pressure is applied along one axis of a crystal (mechanical axis), a potential difference develops across the transverse axis (electrical axis) of the crystal. The crystals which exhibit such property are called piezo-electric crystals.Tourmaline
Tourmaline ( ) is a crystalline silicate mineral group in which boron is compounded with elements such as aluminium, iron, magnesium, sodium, lithium, or potassium. Tourmaline is a gemstone and can be found in a wide variety of colors.
The ...
and quartz
Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical form ...
are some well known piezo-electric crystals.
Operation
The gas lighter is mostly cylindrical in shape and consists of a piezo-electric crystal over which a spring-loaded hammer is placed. The hammer and spring set up is attached to a button. When this button is pressed, the hammer is moved away from the piezo-electric crystal. When the button is pressed over a limit, the spring releases the hammer. The hammer hits the piezo-electric crystal. Due to piezo-electric effect, a high voltage is generated in the range of 800 volts. The lighter is wired in such a way that this whole voltage is applied in a small region of air gap between two metallic points. Due to high voltage generated, the air is ionized and acts as a path for the discharge. This electric discharge is the spark which when exposed to the combustible gas from the stove ignites it to produce flame. In gas lighters, piezo-electric ceramics likelead zirconate titanate
Lead zirconate titanate is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula (0≤''x''≤1), commonly abbreviated as PZT. Also called lead zirconium titanate, it is a ceramic perovskite material that shows a marked piezoelectric effect, meaning t ...
also known as PZT are used due to their low cost and high sensitivity./ref>
Older versions
Before piezo-electric lighters became available, gas stove burners were often lit with aflint spark lighter
Ferrocerium (also known in Europe as Auermetall) is a synthetic pyrophoric alloy of mischmetal (cerium, lanthanum, neodymium, other trace lanthanides and some iron – about 95% lanthanides and 5% iron) hardened by blending in oxides of ...
. Some examples of these are shown below.
See also
*Butane torch
A butane torch is a tool which creates an intensely hot flame using a fuel mixture of LPGs typically including some percentage of butane, a flammable gas.
Consumer air butane torches are often claimed to develop flame temperatures up to approx ...
* Lighter
A lighter is a portable device which creates a flame, and can be used to ignite a variety of items, such as cigarettes, gas lighter, fireworks, candles or campfires. It consists of a metal or plastic container filled with a flammable liquid or c ...
References
External links
* {{Commons-inline Firelighting using electricity