“Is there a very great difference,” said Rollo’s mother, “in the degree of heat necessary to set fire to these different things?”
“Yes,” said Mr. Holiday, “I believe the difference is very great. Phosphorus inflames below the heat of boiling water, but it takes almost a red heat to set wood on fire. And iron will not take fire till it is white hot.”
“Iron?” said Rollo, with surprise.
“Yes,” said his father, “iron will take fire and burn as well as wood, if you heat it hot enough.”
“I never knew that,” said Rollo.
“The ends of the tongs and of the andirons do not burn,” said his father, “simply because the fire is never hot enough to set such a large piece of iron on fire. But if we heat the end of a bar of iron very hot indeed in a furnace, it will take fire and burn; and so, if we take a very minute piece of iron, as big as the point of a pin, a common fire would be sufficient to heat that hot enough to set it on fire.”
“Well, father,” said Rollo, “let us try it.”
“If we had some iron filings, we might sprinkle them in the fire, or even in the flame of a lamp, and they would burn.”
“I wish I had some filings,” said Rollo.
“Yes,” said his father, “they burn beautifully.”