In
pyrotechnics
Pyrotechnics is the science and craft of creating fireworks, but also includes safety matches, oxygen candles, Pyrotechnic fastener, explosive bolts (and other fasteners), parts of automotive airbags, as well as gas-pressure blasting in mining, q ...
, black match is a type of crude
fuse, constructed of
cotton
Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...
string fibers intimately coated with a dried
black powder
Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, charcoal (which is mostly carbon), and potassium nitrate, potassium ni ...
slurry.
When black match is confined in a paper tube, called quick match or piped match, the flame front propagates much more quickly, many feet per second.
Quick match is often used in
model rocket
A model rocket is a small rocket designed to reach low altitudes (e.g., for a model) and #Model rocket recovery methods, be recovered by a variety of means.
According to the United States National Association of Rocketry, National Associati ...
s in the United Kingdom to ignite multiple engines/motors; it is however largely unavailable in the
USA due to ambiguous explosives laws.
See also
*
Slow match
Slow match, also called match cord, is the slow-burning cord or twine fuse used by early gunpowder musketeers, artillerymen, and soldiers to ignite matchlock muskets, cannons, shells, and petards. Slow matches were most suitable for use ar ...
*
Punk (fireworks)
A punk is a smoldering stick used for lighting firework fuses. It is safer than a match or a lighter because it can be used from a greater distance and does not use an open flame. They are made of bamboo and a brown coating of compressed sa ...
Pyrotechnic initiators
Pyrotechnics
{{Pyrotechnics-stub