David in Ballarat wrote:
. . . . HOWEVER, I distinctly recall that back in the
late 70s when I was nursing in the burns unit at
Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital, we were actually
shown a demonstration of the way in which common fabrics
burn. It was pointed out to us that pure cotton will
scorch (turn brown) long before it ignites, and it is
while it is scorching that it burns. This was
demonstrated to happen at a temperature quite a bit lower
than that at which nylon melted.
When cotton is hot enough to cause burns, it turns brown.
Nylon at the same temperature would also cause burns --
though if it's Nomex nylon, it won't be as hot on the side
next to you as it is on the side next to the fire.
If cotton turns brown at a lower temperature than the
temperature at which nylon melts -- and that is a very iffy
statement because there are nine zillion kinds of nylon --
then that's a *feature*: "Hey, my shirt-tail is turning
brown -- maybe I'd better step back from the fire just a tad."
Wool is even better, because it stinks, so you don't have
to look at it to know you're too close to the fire. Wool is
also hard to keep burning, if there isn't any oil or
molten plastic for it to wick, and it insulates pretty well.
Wool was used for fire-fighting suits before the
invention of Nomex.
Re-enactors, who work around open fire in long dresses a
lot, say that linen petticoats are safer than cotton
petticoats -- but that may be because cotton fabrics are
more likely to be thin.
For children's sleepwear, you want something *close
fitting*, rather than something hard to ignite. (Children
aren't particularly vulnerable when in bed -- they are
particularly vulnerable when their *parents* are in bed.)
--
Joy Beeson
http://joybeeson.home.comcast.net/
http://roughsewing.home.comcast.net/
http://n3f.home.comcast.net/ -- Writers' Exchange
west of Fort Wayne, Indiana, U.S.A.
To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line:
unsubscribe lace-chat [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
