Sparks

[JN.]

Hi!

 

Today I was taking care of my plants, and accidentaly my hoe beated in a stone and I saw a spark.

 

Does anybody know what happens with the atoms? The first thing I thought was the work done by the shock energizes the atoms, and when the atoms get de-energized, resulting in the spark. However I thing that this is not a good interpretation of that. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[swansont]

You are chipping of small pieces of the metal, which contains iron, and it essentially is burning. The newly-exposed iron rapidly oxidizes.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrophoricity