Is it electric charge or only the friction?

[jayeshtrivedi]

Hi all,

When we rub two stones and get a spark , is there any chance of static charge accumulation or it is just the mechanical energy of friction is transferred in form of heat energy.

Thanks in advance.

Jayesh.

 

[UltrafastPED]

Rubbing two stones together is not likely to start a fire.

If you have flint & steel you will get sparks ...

Here is how it works: http://survivaltopics.com/flint-and-steel-what-causes-the-sparks/

 

[jayeshtrivedi]

Hi,

Thanks and sorry for late reply.

But what I am asking is that in primitive stage of civilization human being are generating fire by rubbing the stones only.

I am asking for this phenomenon.

 

[UltrafastPED]

Native Americans used a bow to twirl a wooden rod against another piece of wood with a matching hole; friction would heat the wood. When they judged it was hot enough they would drop in small pieces of dry material which would easily catch fire; this was then transferred ...

see http://www.wildwoodsurvival.com/survival/fire/bowdrill/pmoc/basicbowdrill.html

This is a friction technique.

I am not familiar with the use of stones for starting fires - except for flint and iron.

If you can provide a good reference, I can determine how the fire was started.

 

[davenn]

I am not familiar with the use of stones for starting fires - except for flint and iron.

That's ok for back to the iron age. But going back further than that required other methods

It seems the Nth American Indian method of a "wood drill has been around for a much longer time.

There's a severe lack of online info on the subject. First uses of fire seem to have been thought to have come from lightning started fires and volcanic sources.
I read that there are hints of flint on flint as a started as well as a result of the seeing the sparks created by the "carving" of flint tools

a bit of a digression from the original post but it would be great for a topic in another part of the forum if we had any anthropologists at PF ??

cheers
Dave

 

[UltrafastPED]

Flint on flint: http://www.wilderness-survival.net/forums/showthread.php?14336-How-To-Make-Fire-With-Natural-Flint

This method generates a spark. Watch the video.

But flint on steel - or even naturally found iron pyrites - is easier.

 

[davenn]

Flint on flint: http://www.wilderness-survival.net/forums/showthread.php?14336-How-To-Make-Fire-With-Natural-Flint

This method generates a spark. Watch the video.

But flint on steel - or even naturally found iron pyrites - is easier.

the point is ... not that it is easier, but that steel didn't exist wayyyyyy back then


Dave