What is "flash point"

Flashing \Flash"ing\, n.

1. (Engineering) The creation of an artifical flood by the sudden letting in of a body of water; -- called also flushing.

2. (Arch.) Pieces of metal, built into the joints of a wall, so as to lap over the edge of the gutters or to cover the edge of the roofing; also, similar pieces used to cover the valleys of roofs of slate, shingles, or the like. By extension, the metal covering of ridges and hips of roofs; also, in the United States, the protecting of angles and breaks in walls of frame houses with waterproof material, tarred paper, or the like. Cf. Filleting.

3. (Glass Making)

   1. The reheating of an article at the furnace aperture during manufacture to restore its plastic condition; esp., the reheating of a globe of crown glass to allow it to assume a flat shape as it is rotated.

   2. A mode of covering transparent white glass with a film of colored glass.
      --Knight.

      Flashing point (Chem.), that degree of temperature at which a volatile oil gives off vapor in sufficient quantity to burn, or flash, on the approach of a flame, used as a test of the comparative safety of oils, esp. kerosene; a flashing point of 100[deg] F. is regarded as a fairly safe standard. The burning point of the oil is usually from ten to thirty degree above the flashing point of its vapor. Usually called flash point.

alt. 1 The lowest temperature at which a liquid can form an ignitable mixture in air near the surface of the liquid. 2 (context figuratively English) A hotspot; a dangerous place of violent political unrest n. 1 The lowest temperature at which a liquid can form an ignitable mixture in air near the surface of the liquid. 2 (context figuratively English) A hotspot; a dangerous place of violent political unrest

1. n. point at which something is ready to blow up [syn: flashpoint]

2. the lowest temperature at which the vapor of a combustible liquid can be ignited in air [syn: flashpoint]

The flash point of a volatile material is the lowest temperature at which vapors of the material will ignite, given an ignition source.

The flash point is not to be confused with the autoignition temperature (the temperature at which the vapor ignites without an ignition source) or with the fire point (the lowest temperature at which the vapor will keep burning after having been ignited and the ignition source has been removed). The fire point is higher than the flash point, because at the flash point the vapor may cease to burn when the ignition source is removed.

Neither the flash point nor the fire point is dependent on the temperature of the ignition source, which is much higher.

Flash Point is a 2007 Hong Kong action film directed by Wilson Yip, produced by and starring Donnie Yen. The film co-stars Louis Koo, Collin Chou, Lui Leung-wai, Fan Bingbing and Xing Yu. Yen plays Ma Jun, a police sergeant who plants his partner Wilson (Louis Koo) as a mole in a pursuit against a triad led by three Vietnamese brothers (played by Chou, Lui and Xing).

Flash Point was repeatedly hailed as a prequel to the 2005 film SPL: Sha Po Lang, which was Yip and Yen's first feature film collaboration as director and star respectively. Yen denied the SPL prequel reports, claiming that Flash Point was a completely original film. Principal photography began in Hong Kong from November 2006 to March 2007. In choreographing Flash Point's major fight scenes, Yen relied on the use of mixed martial arts, working alongside an international group of martial artists. His work as a choreographer won him "Best Action Choreography" awards at the 27th Hong Kong Film Awards and the 2008 Golden Horse Film Awards.

Flash Point was released in Hong Kong on 9 August 2007. It was a box office hit during its two-month theatrical run in China, despite receiving mixed reviews. It had also premiered at the "Midnight Madness" program of the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival. Flash Point was later given a limited theatrical release in North America on 14 March 2008, before being released on DVD by The Weinstein Company as part of Dragon Dynasty's collection of films.