On the origin of exothermic centers in gaseous mixtures

Abstract Using simple assumptions, the probabilities of fluctuations in the induction period of self-ignition processes in gaseous media are estimated. Pure-thermal and chain-thermal processes are considered. It is shown that systems with branched chain reactions are most sensitive with respect to any fluctuations irrespectively whether they are caused externally by disturbances in the flow field or internally by local stochastic processes.