the.com/ignition
the precise instant when stored chemistry decides to become noise, motion, and consequence
means the act of setting something on fire or starting an engine's combustion, or the system in a vehicle that does so when you turn the key or press the button
from From Latin 'ignire,' to set on fire, built on 'ignis,' fire — the same root that gives us 'igneous' rocks born from molten heat. It entered English in the 1600s, long before there were engines to start, when it simply meant the kindling of flame; the automotive sense is a much later borrowing of that ancient fire-word for a new kind of controlled burning.
- temperature
- gasoline self-ignites around 280 degrees Celsius, no spark needed
- car keys
- twist-to-start ignition debuted on a 1949 Chrysler
- rocket fear
- engineers dread hard starts, where fuel pools then explodes
- fusion milestone
- 2022 lab fusion finally output more energy than its lasers delivered
- etymology
- from Latin ignis, the same root as igneous rock
apollo 1 fire — spacecraft cabin fire killed astronauts gus grissom, ed white, and roger chaffee on january 27, 1967
hindenburg disaster — german passenger airship caught fire while docking in new jersey on may 6, 1937, killing 35 of 97 people aboard
great chicago fire — massive urban fire destroyed much of chicago on october 8-10, 1871, killing around 300 people