ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
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If you're still taking inventory of who does this type of experiment, we use
Lycopodium powder and it's done as part of our Combustion demonstration at
the Arizona Science Center

Rachel Smith

Arizona Science Center
602-716-2042


-----Original Message-----
From: scott randol [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Friday, January 16, 2004 10:39 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: coffee creamer


ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related
institutions.
****************************************************************************
*

Are you refering to dispersing a cloud of the powder and igniting it?  I
have done the demo with several powders and found that corn starch works
very well, but the best results are with lycopodium powder (a pollen I
think), it is expensive, but it doesn't take much and provides a huge bang
for the buck.  Flour must be dried in the oven first for a decent effect.

I have typically used a funnel attached to a length of plastic tubing and a
candle or open flame burner as an ignition source.  Set up the funnel so
that it points upward and toward the flame source (the distance depends upon
a lot of factors, but about 20 - 30 cm is a good place to start), put some
of the powder into the funnel (maybe 30 - 40 grams), then blow through the
tubing.  A cloud of powder comes out of the funnel, is ignited by the flame,
and creates a puff of fire.  For a real show stopper, we followed this demo
up by putting the whole set-up inside a paint bucket, sealing the lid and
letting it do its thing.  The effect is similar to the old flour silos that
would explode; the lid blows off with a huge 'bang' and a flash of flame.
We had to tie the lid down so that it did not fly into the crowd.

Scott Randol
BlueCrowConsulting.com


----Original Message Follows----
From: "Fisher, Martin" <[log in to unmask]>
Reply-To: Informal Science Education Network

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