A simple model is presented to describe the ignition stage (i.e., the onset of chemical reaction) for a reactive solid mixture that is warmed by microwaves. The relation between the size of spatial temperature gradients just prior to ignition, and the speed of the reaction wave that emerges from ignition is discussed. In this context, relevant and well-known properties of solutions to Fisher's equation are reviewed, and a simple quantitative description of these is given using methods of matched asymptotic expansions.

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1999-2000 Reactive Flow and Transport Phenomena