Flammability

[edit] Americola's celebrity biographies are provided by AmericolaWiki, a celebrity wiki. You can help contribute to Americola and edit this article.

Flammability or Inflammability is the ease with which a substance will ignite, causing fire or combustion. Materials that will ignite at temperatures commonly encountered are considered flammable, with various specific definitions giving a temperature requirement. The flash point is the important characteristic. A volatile substance may have sufficient vapor pressure to form flammable (or even explosive) mixtures with air in temperatures as low as –10 °C, so that ignition can occur even without direct contact. Flash points below 100 °F (37.8 °C) are regulated in the United States by OSHA as potential workplace hazards. Examples of flammable liquids are gasoline, ethanol, and acetone. Diesel fuel is in one of the less heavily regulated flammability categories, and biodiesel is considered nonflammable or noninflammable with a flash point usually over 300 °F (150 °C) even though biodiesel will combust inside a diesel engine.

Confusion between Flammable and Inflammable

Flammable is of relatively recent origin. However, it has in many contexts (especially safety) taken the place of the older Inflammable, which many people take to mean its exact opposite (assuming that the Latin prefix in- always means "not", when in this case it is an intensifer). ^[1]. Because of this confusion, the word "inflammable" (on its own) is avoided in technical usage (warning notices, etc). In, for example, the United States and the United Kingdom, trucks carrying gasoline and other (in)flammable substances are always marked "flammable". In other countries, such as India, the words "highly inflammable" are used.^[2].

The Chicago Manual of Style suggests using "flammable" for clarity.^[3].

The Elements of Style ("Strunk and White"), on the other hand, says:

Flammable. An oddity, chiefly useful in saving lives. The common word meaning "combustible" is inflammable. But some people are thrown off by the in- and think inflammable means "not combustible." For this reason, trucks carrying gasoline or explosives are now marked FLAMMABLE. Unless you are operating such a truck and hence are concerned with the safety of children and illiterates, use inflammable.

References

1. ^ http://www.bartleby.com/61/47/F0164700.html
2. ^ For example, this picture from a newspaper
3. ^ The Chicago Manual of Style, 15th ed. Chicago:University of Chicago Press, 2003. 215

Wikipedia information about Flammability This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Flammability". It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer). Help contribute to Americola and edit this article.