On the critical conditions for an assembly of interacting thermons

The interaction of a number of self-heating bodies depositing heat into a c ommon finite heat bath and thereby influencing each other is a problem of g reat practical importance in many areas including storage and transport of self-heating materials, drums of chemicals, foodstuffs etc. Critical condit ions for the complete assembly of interacting heat producers (thermons) are derived under various assumptions and modes of ignition are identified. Th ese include cooperative modes as well as modes which are simply perturbatio ns of ignition for single thermons.