Many works of surface ignition that is defined as a phenomenon caused by hot metal surfaces or carbon deposits in combustion chamber of a gasoline engine, have been performed by using practical gasoline engine. The data on the surface ignition reported previously indicate that both the number of times and the intensity of the surface ignition vary with the characteristics of an engine, fuels and lubricants in use to the experiments, respectively.
In the present paper, emphasis has been placed on the ignition of combustible gases at a hot surface and flame development in processes of surface ignition in combustion chamber.
It has been shown by the comparative consideration between fundamental researches on ignition of inflammable gases and practical developments on the surface ignition that surface ignition by carbon deposits in an engine can be elucidated from temperature rise of the surface due to an exothermic reaction of the deposits with combustible mixture.