>On Nov 19, 2005, at 2:51 PM, Scott Loveless wrote: > >> Thanks for the correction, Bob. I actually did a bit of googling, >> instead of just recalling from memory, and found that the Cellulose >> acetate has an ignition temp of 800F and the Estar base 900F. I'm >> assuming the cellulose nitrate ignited at much lower temperatures. > > >It isn't so much that cellulose nitrate has a low combustion >temperature, but that it decomposes in storage and the byproducts of >this decomposition tend to spontaneously combust. So a closet full >of old nitrate film was like a ticking time bomb. > >Bob
Much of Canada's early aerial survey photography was done on cellulose nitrate for stability. It is housed in a refrigerated vault with walls several feet thick. Powell
