People who work with chemicals make sure they know the flash point of each substance in their labs. A flash point is the temperature at which the fumes from a liquid can be ignited with a spark.
与化学药品打交道的人，总会确保自己知道实验室中每一种物质的燃点。燃点是液态气体能被火花点燃的温度。
But people who have never taken a chemistry course need to be concerned with flash points as well. For example, the gasoline you put into your car has a flash point of minus forty-five degrees Fahrenheit.
但未曾上过化学课的人同样需要关注物质的燃点。例如，你加入车里的汽油燃点是华氏零下45度。
So, unless you live in a climate where the temperature stays below minus forty-five degrees, the fumes from gasoline can ignite from a nearby spark. And that’s why most gas stations have warning signs posted about not smoking while you fill up your tank.
所以，除非你生活在温度维持在华氏零下45度以下的环境里，汽油逸出的烟雾才不会被附近的明火点燃。这也是为什么大多数加油站都张贴警告标志，告戒人们不要在给车加油时吸烟。
Olive oil has a flash point of 437 degrees Fahrenheit. That means if you could heat olive oil to 437 degrees, it would give off a vapor that could ignite if a lit match passed through it. Cod liver oil has a flash point of 412 degrees Fahrenheit and formaldehyde has a flash point of 122 degrees.
橄榄油的燃点是华氏437度。这意味着如果你把橄榄油加热至437度，它散发出的蒸气完全可以被一根划过去的、燃着的火柴点燃。鱼肝油的燃点是华氏412度，而甲醛的燃点是122度。
Most flash points are inconsequential to the lay person because they occur at such high temperatures. But some, like kerosene, with a flash point of 100 degrees Fahrenheit, can be cause for concern on a hot day. If you keep an old-fashioned kerosene lamp on your fireplace mantel, you probably shouldn’t light it on a hot summer day, or you might ignite more than just the wick of the lamp.
大多数物质的燃点对于业外人士来说不重要，因为它们只在高温条件下出现。但是，一些像煤油一样，燃点为华氏100度的物质，在炎热的日子里着实令人担忧。如果你的壁炉架上有一盏老式煤油灯，你最好不要在炎热的夏天点燃它，因为你点燃的可能不仅仅是煤油灯的灯芯。

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