Fiery patterns

Safe­ty pre­cau­tions

At­ten­tion! All ex­per­i­ments are per­formed by pro­fes­sion­als. Do not at­tempt.

Process de­scrip­tion

Cit­ric acid re­acts with mag­ne­sium to pro­duce hy­dro­gen gas. Af­ter sev­er­al min­utes, the gas com­plete­ly fills the flask and tube. Only then can it be ig­nit­ed – cre­at­ing a hy­dro­gen flame with a tem­per­a­ture of about 2000 °C. This is more than enough to char cel­lu­lose, which is the main com­po­nent of ply­wood. Sci­ence and art go hand in hand!

Ex­plore the laws of na­ture with safe ex­per­i­ments from the MEL Sci­ence sub­scrip­tion!