The theory is widespread on the Internet that the writer confused the Celsius and Fahrenheit scale when he chose the name for his anti -utopia. We decided to check if this is so.
The temperature indicated in the name of the novel by Bradbury is not random, its value revealed In the epigraph: "451 degrees Fahrenheit - the temperature at which the book pages are ignited and burned to the ground." The fact that the paper actually burns at 450 degrees Celsius and the writer incorrectly indicated the temperature scale (and even allegedly admitted his mistake!), Writes users of social networks (""VKontakte" Facebook*) and the Platform blog (Livejournal, "Zen","Pulse"). You can meet the story of Bradbury's mistake on cognitive portals and c reviews Internet users. Mentioned She is in some literary works modern authors.
How told In an interview with Bradbury himself, to find out the temperature at which the paper burns, he first turned to the University of California, and then to the University of South Carolina, but never received an answer. After that, he called the fire service, where he was prompted by a meaning, which then fell into the name of the novel.
The earliest mention of the theory of confused temperature scales, which “verified” was found, fast British writer Gary DexterPublished in 2009 on a blog on the Blogspot platform. There he notes that the paper combustion temperature is actually 450 ° C, referring to the guide Handbook of Physical Testing of Paper. It says that “the temperature of the paper ignition is about 450 ° C, but it depends on the quality of the paper. The ignition temperature is 450 ° C for paper from viscous fibers, 475 ° C-from cotton and 550 ° C-from refractory cotton (treated n-methyl-dimethyl-phosphonopropionamine). " In this regard, Dexter advised Bradbury to rename the novel into “843 degrees on Fahrenheit”, since it was precisely this “approximate temperature, at which the viscose fiber, not processed by N-methyl-dimethyl-phosphonopyreide, lights up and burns.”
It is quite difficult to answer the question at what temperature is ignited and burns, it depends on many factors. An important role is played by the material from which it is made, its density, age and other characteristics. Dexter writes about the temperature of the burning of paper from viscose and cotton fibers, while books in recent decades are usually printed on offset paper (This information can be found on the first pages or in the description of a particular publications V online store), consisting of wood Cellulose. Such paper Less strong, rather than cotton, which Dexter leads as an example, and hence the combustion temperature below. Bradbury Roman was the first time published in 1953 in the United States, and at that time there is already wide used cellulose.
In the reference ""Fire -hazardousness of substances and materials and their extinguishing means", Compiled by a specialized publishing house"Oshnauka", It is indicated that the temperature of the ignition of the paper is 230 ° C, which is 446 ° F, that is, quite close to the Bradbury version. About the same paper ignition temperature is indicated in the article Physical Constants for Investigators, published in the journal of fire investigators of Australia: 218–246 ° C (that is, 424–474 ° F). But the temperature of the fire of photographic paper (obviously more dense) is already much higher: 365 ° C, or 689 ° F.
In 2022, an international group of researchers conducted experiment. In an attempt to develop methods for effective restoration of antique books affected in fires, scientists created similar samples from fabric paper (that is, consisting of flax, hemp or nettles and glued gelatin), and then heated them under various conditions and temperatures. In all tests for fire, scientists needed significantly higher temperatures than 451 ° F - on average from 570 ° F and higher. However, the case did not reach up to 451 ° C during the experiment, even fabric paper began to burn earlier. At the same time, individual sheets, due to the larger surface of contact with oxygen, burned faster at lower temperatures than a pile of paper imitating a closed book. Therefore, if Bradbury in the title wanted to make a reference precisely on burning books, he should take into account that this would require higher temperatures.
As for the allegations that the writer allegedly recognized his mistake with the temperature scales, “verified” failed to find any reliable evidence of this fact.
Thus, it is quite difficult to unequivocally answer the question at what temperature lights up and burns out, since its composition, density, external conditions, etc. plays a large role in this process. Nevertheless, many reference books devoted to the fire hassle of materials, and the articles of expert-fireworks are given numbers close to the one that Bradbury calls the angles of his novel. In addition, “verified” could not find convincing evidence that Bradbury had ever admitted that he had mixed up the temperature scale. Therefore, even if the writer called the temperature of the burning of the paper and not entirely correct, then this is unlikely to be due to the confusion between the scales of Celsius and Fahrenheit.
*Russian authorities They think Meta Platforms Inc., which owns the social network Instagram, an extremist organization, its activities in Russia are prohibited.
Photo on the cover: pixabay.com
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