Using Fire in a Science Project

Fire is always something that should be handled with care because it can cause serious burns and damage to property. But amazingly, fire can be a good medium for your science project. With the use of common materials and substances, you can make fire do your bidding and be less of a danger to you. But be warned that fire is fire and should not be played with. It can consume anything that's flammable and volatile fumes and liquids should be kept away from it to prevent explosions. DO NOT DO what's described here without the supervision of adults. You DO NOT WANT to get yourself, your house, or your school burned!

This project is really simple. The problem is to treat a wick that can sustain a flame for long periods of time. We all know that if you light a wick, it will burn, and once it burns out, the flame goes with it. So what can we do so that it will not burn quickly? The answer that is provided here is to treat the wick with chemicals. Note that these chemicals are easily obtainable and relatively safe if handled properly. Again, if you're a kid, ask the help of an adult who cares about your welfare.

First, you must get wick material that does not burn easily. Cotton or wool fabric is ideal. Do not use polyester, which burns easily at low temperatures. Next, get 70 to 95 percent alcohol solution. Mix the 95% alcohol with the same amount of water (50-50; one is to one; add 25% more alcohol if you use a 70% product). Soak your cotton wick in the solution. Pour your alcohol-water solution into the fuel repository of a wicker lamp. Insert the wicker in the wicker tube. Make sure that the wicker is wet with the liquid solution before assembling your wicker lamp. If everything is set, light the wick and see how the cotton wick remains unburned for as long as it's fed with the alcohol-water solution. It will be much like the burning bush (left) in the Bible! Indeed, for novelty, you can shape your wick into a tiny burning bush, and even add the related passage in the Bible. But there's nothing spiritual about the trick. It's really the alcohol that burns and as the water evaporates from the cloth, it takes away heat which keeps the cloth from reaching the temperature that will make it burn for real!

The alcohol-water solution actually also works with paper money, which is really cloth. If you thoroughly soak a bill in the solution and light it, it will burn but will not be consumed. This is a really good stage magic trick. You can show to your audience that the bill is real before secretly soaking it in your special solution and lighting it in front of their eyes.

Did you know? If you soak a ball of cotton or wool cloth in naphtha or kerosene, then light the ball in your hand, you can bounce the ball on your palm without getting burned? Yes, it's true, just avoid the top part of the flame, which is the hottest part. The underside of the ball is generally safe as long as you bounce the cloth ball. Remember that it takes three seconds for skin to get burned. So, do not keep the lit ball in one place on your palm for more then a second to be safe. Do not do this without proper supervision!

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