the.com/accelerant
the difference between a campfire and a confession on the witness stand
means A substance that speeds up a process, especially a flammable material used to make a fire start faster and spread harder.
from From Latin 'accelerare,' to hasten — built from 'ad-' (toward) plus 'celer' (swift), the same 'celer' that gives us 'celerity' and lurks inside 'acceleration.' The '-ant' ending marks it as the thing doing the hastening. The word lived a quiet chemical and mechanical life before arson investigators borrowed it, and now it can't quite shake the smell of gasoline.
- chemistry
- lowers ignition temperature so fire starts and spreads faster
- arson tell
- leaves pour patterns and vapor trails investigators trace
- dog squad
- trained canines smell accelerants humans never detect
- common culprit
- gasoline, the household arsonist's lazy favorite
- metaphor creep
- now describes anything that speeds disaster or ambition
thermite — aluminum and iron oxide mixture reaching 2400°c, used in welding and military applications
greek fire — secret byzantine naval weapon used from 672 ad, likely contained quicklime and naphtha